Square Records $166 Million in Bitcoin Revenue in 2018

Thursday, 28/02/2019 | 11:22 GMT by Arnab Shome
  • Despite the impressive revenue, the firm pocketed only $1.69 million from BTC sales.
Square Records $166 Million in Bitcoin Revenue in 2018
Reuters

The US-based mobile payment platform has reported $116 million in revenue from selling Bitcoin in 2018.

According to Square’s quarterly earnings report published on February 27, its overall net revenue was capped at $3.3 billion last year, five percent of which was generated from its crypto buying service on Cash app.

The quarterly results also showed that in Q4 2018, the platform sold $52 million worth Bitcoins surpassing the figures of the previous quarters - Q3 by $9 million and Q2 by more than $15 million.

Thin Profit Margin

However, the profit margin associated with the digital currency remained low as the platform spend $165 million in buying Bitcoins throughout the year, marking an annual profit of a mere $1.69 million.

Talking to CNBC, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square and Twitter, said: “People are utilizing the money they have in Cash App with friends, families, and landlords, causing another download, and another, into the network.”

The mobile-based payment app extended its support towards cryptocurrency trading in November 2017 by the launch of its peer-to-peer Cash app. The platform had more than 15 million active customers in December 2018, doubling from a year earlier.

“For the year ahead we continue to focus on three things and we will continue to strengthen our omnichannel offering. That means that we add strength to in-person Payments , to mobile payments and also to online. We’re really excited about everything we’re doing in financial services,” Dorsey added.

Serving All 50 States

Initially, Square released its Bitcoin purchasing services only to a limited number of states in the US, however, in August 2018, the platform extended its services to all 50 states after receiving the so-called "BitLicense” from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) last June.

As Fiance Magnates reported earlier, the payment company has also refiled for a banking license in the country to establish itself as a financial institution.

In an interview, earlier this month, Dorsey made some bullish remarks on Bitcoin, calling it to be the internet’s “native currency.”

The US-based mobile payment platform has reported $116 million in revenue from selling Bitcoin in 2018.

According to Square’s quarterly earnings report published on February 27, its overall net revenue was capped at $3.3 billion last year, five percent of which was generated from its crypto buying service on Cash app.

The quarterly results also showed that in Q4 2018, the platform sold $52 million worth Bitcoins surpassing the figures of the previous quarters - Q3 by $9 million and Q2 by more than $15 million.

Thin Profit Margin

However, the profit margin associated with the digital currency remained low as the platform spend $165 million in buying Bitcoins throughout the year, marking an annual profit of a mere $1.69 million.

Talking to CNBC, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square and Twitter, said: “People are utilizing the money they have in Cash App with friends, families, and landlords, causing another download, and another, into the network.”

The mobile-based payment app extended its support towards cryptocurrency trading in November 2017 by the launch of its peer-to-peer Cash app. The platform had more than 15 million active customers in December 2018, doubling from a year earlier.

“For the year ahead we continue to focus on three things and we will continue to strengthen our omnichannel offering. That means that we add strength to in-person Payments , to mobile payments and also to online. We’re really excited about everything we’re doing in financial services,” Dorsey added.

Serving All 50 States

Initially, Square released its Bitcoin purchasing services only to a limited number of states in the US, however, in August 2018, the platform extended its services to all 50 states after receiving the so-called "BitLicense” from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) last June.

As Fiance Magnates reported earlier, the payment company has also refiled for a banking license in the country to establish itself as a financial institution.

In an interview, earlier this month, Dorsey made some bullish remarks on Bitcoin, calling it to be the internet’s “native currency.”

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
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Arnab is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He entered the industry covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates and later expanded his reach to forex as well. He is passionate about the changing regulatory landscape on financial markets and keenly follows the disruptions in the industry with new-age technologies.

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