Jack Dorsey Says Square Plans To Build Bitcoin Mining System

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Jack Dorsey is a big supporter of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Marco Bello / AFP via Getty Images

According to co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, the Fintech Square group plans to build a Bitcoin mining system using custom chip designs that would be available to the public.

Dorsey, who is also the co-founder of Twitter (ticker: TWTR), said in a tweet that Square is starting a technical investigation into building a Bitcoin mining system that could be widely used by individuals and businesses. companies. He also encouraged public comment on his development.

Bitcoin mining is a process that both underpins blockchain, the decentralized ledger technology on which Bitcoin and other cryptos are based, and governs how new coins are put into circulation. Bitcoin miners use computers to solve complex mathematical problems that validate Bitcoin transactions and add them to the blockchain. The miners are themselves rewarded with Bitcoin.

Dorsey raised key issues regarding Bitcoin and mining in a Twitter thread announcing Squares’ new initiative, noting that the process would need to be more distributed and decentralized to make the network more resilient.

Mining Bitcoin should be as easy as plugging a platform into a power source. There aren’t enough incentives today for individuals to overcome the complexity of managing a minor for themselves, Dorsey said.

Also Read: Bitcoin Prices Approach All-Time Highs in the Run-Up to Futures ETF

The CEO of Square also said the mining process needs to be more efficient, with the pursuit of clean and efficient energy use being crucial to the economy and scalability of Bitcoins. Energy is a system-level problem that requires innovation in silicon, software and integration, he said.

Dorsey added that the silicon design that describes the intellectual property of computer chips is too concentrated among a few companies, making chip development very expensive. Project Squares would use custom chips with designs that would be made public.

The fintech executive has long been a supporter of Bitcoin. When Square (SQ) as well as PayPal (PYPL) made crypto services available to customers late last year, it marked a significant milestone on the path to institutional adoption of Bitcoin and other crypto assets. The move also helped spark a frenzy of retail investor interest in Bitcoin.

Square stock fell 0.2% in pre-market trading on Monday, in line with US stock market futures, which were down. The price of Bitcoin rose more than 6%, from around $ 59,000 on Friday to highs near $ 62,600 over the weekend, and was holding steady near $ 62,000 early on Monday.

Crypto hit an all-time high of nearly $ 65,000 in April, according to data from CoinDesk, with Dow Jones Market Data recording a record high of nearly $ 63,500. Bitcoin has climbed around 425% since mid-October 2020, as it changed hands around $ 12,000.

Bitcoin’s recent price rally comes as an exchange-traded fund trading the futures for the major crypto is expected to start trading this week.

Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]

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