Square announced today that they will be testing bitcoin purchases through their Cash App.
Say what?
In a statement released by Jack Dorsey's company (Square), they announced that they would begin allowing select customers of the Cash App to buy and sell bitcoin.
The Cash app allows customers to send payments digitally to contacts as well as pay for goods and services at certain companies.
For the time being, bitcoin isn't able to be sent to contacts but they are opening buying and selling of the cryptocurrency to test how it might function on their platform going forward.
Added credibility for bitcoin?
The fact that bitcoin is even being mentioned as an inclusion on the popular app adds credibility to bitcoin as a currency and further opens the door for wider spread adoption of the coin for transactional purposes.
Jim Cramer echoed those statements on Squawk on the Street this morning when he said:
"I think this is something big and it's going to drive Square up, and it's going to make people feel better about bitcoin."
Make people feel better about bitcoin?
You don't say...
The entire release can be read here:
https://www.coindesk.com/squares-cash-app-pilots-bitcoin-buying-and-selling/
This comes on the heels of LBX announcing a bitcoin Visa debit card:
LBX has been exploring ways of letting bitcoin owners spend their bitcoins as easily and freely as cash.
The solution may be something along the lines of this:
"With Bitcoin trading at all time high, investors are working out whether it's best to sit on their stockpile or make the most of it while they can. For those wishing to utilise their investment, opportunities can be limited, with only a small number of big companies currently supporting cryptocurrency transactions. London Block Exchange (LBX) wants to change that. It's launching a new Visa debit card that will let users spend their Bitcoin (and other digital currencies) anywhere across the UK.
LBX claims that the Dragoncard, which launches in the coming weeks, is the first to let investors instantly convert their Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and Monero currency into sterling. The platform and accompanying smartphone app are secured by the same systems that underpin the UK banking system and have provisionally been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
When used on the High Street, customers will be charged a 0.5% fee for converting their cryptocurrency holdings into pounds at the till. The Dragoncard also comes with a one-off £20 charge and will charge a small fee for ATM withdrawals. Public pre-registrations are already open, but institutional investors will only be accepted via invitation.Bitcoin transactions, by default, aren't typically fast. They take several minutes to complete, which has led experts to deem it unsuitable as method of payment. LBX handles the conversion itself, rather than at the point of sale, allowing it to potentially remove that headache for users altogether."
https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/15/london-block-exchange-bitcoin-dragoncard-uk/
Now that would be a real game changer...
A debit card that functions just like cash today but with the ability to use bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies? That is a dream scenario for these things.
We need to get something like this for steem!
Making people feel better about cryptocurrencies indeed!
Stay informed my friends.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/15/cramer-squares-bitcoin-play-is-big.html
https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/15/london-block-exchange-bitcoin-dragoncard-uk/
Image Sources:
http://stocksmasters.com/square-cash-app-allows-buying-selling-bitcoin/
https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/15/london-block-exchange-bitcoin-dragoncard-uk/
