The Rise of Square
Square, a payments firm co-founded by the Twitter guy himself, Jack Dorsey, and his buddy Jim McKelvey, seems to be on a glittering path. As of December 18, it earned the prestigious title of Yahoo Finance’s Company of the Year, and honestly, who wouldn’t want that on their resume? With a market cap of a whopping $26 billion, the company is taking the financial world by storm.
Stock Surge Amidst Bitcoin Buzz
Since Square’s inception in 2009, its stock has seen a meteoric rise, zooming up 72% through December 14, and peaking at 170% by the end of September. Talk about impressive! This shift wasn’t just due to its innovative payment systems; it had a little help from the Bitcoin magic. When Square began offering Bitcoin trading options to select customers in November 2017, their stock jumped by $1 billion within a mere five days. Now that’s what we call a party in the stock market!
Bitcoin and the Cash App Effect
Square’s Cash App is gaining quite the reputation, and it plays a pivotal role in this digital currency saga. Expansion of Bitcoin trading across various U.S. states earlier this year sent Square’s stock soaring to new heights. Brian Grassadonia, a big cheese at Cash App, insists that the motivation wasn’t just to boost stock prices. It was, in fact, about making financial tools more accessible, less intimidating, and… let’s be honest, way cooler than they used to be.
A Snapshot of Financial Growth
In November, Square dropped the mic with its announcement that they generated $43 million in Bitcoin revenue for Q3 2018. This was an impressive increase from $37 million in the previous quarter. Not only did they mint some serious money, but they also managed to outshine Twitter in market cap. I’m sure Jack Dorsey had a sly smile on his face when he saw those numbers.
Holding Bitcoin Securely with Open Source
Square isn’t just playing around with Bitcoin; they’re serious about security too. In October, they open-sourced the code for their Bitcoin cold storage setup. This move came shortly after their Cash App extended the Bitcoin trading feature nationwide – all 50 states! It’s like they’re throwing a huge ‘Access for All’ party, and everyone’s invited.
