Updated 16 Apr, 2021

Square CFO Says Bitcoin Needs to be on More Balance Sheets

Square CFO Says Bitcoin Needs to be on More Balance Sheets

Key Takeaways

  • Square CFO thinks every company should have bitcoin on their balance sheets
  • The company will continue to evaluate its bitcoin strategy as the Bitcoin infrastructure evolves

Square Backs Bitcoin

“There’s absolutely a case for every balance sheet to have bitcoin on it,” said Amrita Ahuja, CFO at Square, Inc. In a recent interview with Fortune Magazine, the chief financial officer of Square, the company behind the payment platform Cash App, praised bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and expressed her excitement over their future on a global scale.

“We see Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as expanding access to financial services, especially when you think more globally,” Ms. Ahuja said. Speaking on behalf of the company, she mentioned that Square will continue to support the “broader adoption and awareness of the cryptocurrency”. Square is on the growing list of companies that have added bitcoin to their balance sheet.

Square’s Bitcoin Investments Represents 5% of its Cash

So far, Square has made two investments in bitcoin, which represent about 5% of its cash. On that matter, the Square CFO said the company intends to “hold for the long term”. The company remains committed to evaluating its bitcoin strategy “on an ongoing basis based on how the Bitcoin ecosystem evolves.”

In 2018, Square took its first steps towards bitcoin when its Cash App allowed users to buy bitcoin and store it in a digital wallet. The company has witnessed a surge in its client base this year, growing to 4 million by January 2021, up from 3 million in December last year.

Bitcoin Adoption Grows

Other notable companies that have added bitcoin to their balance sheet include Tesla and MicroStrategy. In early February, Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed it has purchased bitcoin worth $1.5bn and now it represents about 0.3% of its total market value of over $750bn. MicroStrategy, a business intelligence company, keeps buying bitcoin on a regular basis with its latest purchase of $15mn in bitcoin just a couple of weeks ago. The company led by Michael Saylor now has 81% of its market value in bitcoin.