Digital payment company Square is expanding its services into the crypto world by building a new hardware wallet that will provide users the ability to store their cryptocurrencies on their computers and phones.
With a non-custodial wallet, users can have sole control over their private keys and respective cryptocurrencies. It provides them valid proof that the funds belong to them. With a custodial wallet, another faction controls the private keys and most custodial wallets are web-based exchange wallets.
Square builds a hardware wallet for Bitcoin
Jack Dorsey, CEO at Square and Bitcoin enthusiast announced the wallet in June and the company’s hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker made a confirmation on Twitter that the company is processing the new hardware wallet. He said Square will bring a mobile-friendly, “assisted-self-custody” wallet to a global audience.
Dorsey, the company's founder, has long been a crypto champion and has predicted in 2018 that bitcoin would one day become the world's "single currency". His Twitter bio simply says #bitcoin.
“We have decided to build a hardware wallet and service to make bitcoin custody more mainstream,” Dorogusker said. “We’ll continue to ask and answer questions in the open. This community’s response to our thread about this project has been awesome, encouraging, generous, collaborative, and inspiring.” He added that Square is looking to make hires to build the wallet.
This hardware wallet won’t be Square’s first cryptocurrency-focused product as Square introduced Bitcoin trading in 2018 through its cash app. In the same year, it formed the new venture Square Crypto to focus on contributing to bitcoin open-source work.
Square invested $50 million in the cryptocurrency
It invested around $50 million in the cryptocurrency, stating that it is an "instrument of economic empowerment".
Bitcoin wallets can be stored offline or online at cryptocurrency exchanges or venues where bitcoin can be bought and sold for traditional currencies or other virtual coins.