Mobile payments company, Square, is running an experiment that allows some users of its cash platform to buy and sell Bitcoin.
For starters, the company is allowing a select number of customers to buy and sell Bitcoins on its Cash app as it looks to strike into a craze that has sent cryptocurrency up by nearly sevenfold this year.
“We’re always listening to our customers and we’ve found that they are interested in using the Cash app to buy bitcoin,” a Square spokesperson told Engadget when reached for comment. “We’re exploring how Square can make this experience faster and easier, and have rolled out this feature to a small number of Cash app customers. We believe cryptocurrency can greatly impact the ability of individuals to participate in the global financial system and we’re excited to learn more here.”
It has a very basic interface. The beta test users can swipe right from the Cash Card page to access the bitcoin functionality. Once users are able to view a balance in USD and BTC, a graph will show the performance over the last day, month, or year and the buy/sell buttons.
As of now, it is unclear as to what the fee structure will be or if there is a daily buying or selling limit. It is also still unknown which liquidity provider Square is using for its transactions.
Square CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC, “We’re a payment innovator. And therefore I think it behooves us to always know, where are our payments going?” Friar also told “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer last week, “When we develop products at Square, we spend a lot of time listening to what our customers want, and what we heard from individuals – so this isn’t sellers asking to accept bitcoin, this is individuals using Square Cash to make payments … saying, ‘We want an easy way to buy and sell bitcoin.'”
Bitcoin got a boost in popularity and price this year. It also briefly gained over 11 percent on news of its connection to Square. On “Squawk on the Street,” Cramer said Square’s move would “make people feel better about bitcoin.”
