Why is everyone talking about Bitcoin?

[ad_1]

It’s no secret that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is a very popular commodity these days. The largest and oldest cryptocurrency is making headlines, ranging from enthusiastic analyzes of the bright future of digital currency to skeptical screeds focusing on its huge needs for electrical power and uncertain value.

Widespread interest has been sparked by Bitcoin’s huge price gains over the past year and the change. Let’s say you’ve synchronized the stock market perfectly, buying into an S&P 500 index fund at the low of the coronavirus crash in 2020. That investment would have already doubled – but Bitcoin’s returns over the same time frame showed the gains. generous stock market. completely frozen by comparison:

Bitcoin price data by YCharts

And the Bitcoin chatter has gone far beyond the water cooler and the barbershop. These days, you’ll find executives of well-known companies who take cryptocurrencies seriously, often discussing Bitcoin and its peers during their profit calls. Some of the things they say are quite surprising – and the best ideas don’t always come from the usual suspects. Here is a collection of the juiciest Bitcoin reviews I found in earnings calls from the last season of earnings.

Jack Dorsey defends the Bitcoin network in several ways

Let’s start with a pretty obvious Bitcoin bull. Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) and Square (NYSE: SQ) CEO Jack Dorsey has been a lifelong cryptocurrency enthusiast, so it’s no shock when he spends much of his time on conference calls. explain how his businesses use digital currencies.

During Square’s third-quarter call in early November, Dorsey described the recent launch by the digital payment company of a Bitcoin mining operating system and Bitcoin hardware wallet for consumers. The idea is to increase Bitcoin’s exposure to a mainstream audience.

“Our goal is to help Bitcoin become the native currency of the Internet. So we have a number of initiatives in that direction,” Dorsey said.

A week earlier, Dorsey had become poetic about the microblogging service’s all-new tip options Twitter, where Bitcoin-based advice to Twitter’s content creators offers unique advantages over traditional cash contributions.

“What makes Bitcoin interesting is that it is accessible worldwide, no matter where you are in the world. If you have a Bitcoin address to receive and you have Bitcoin to send specifically to the [high-speed Bitcoin transfer feature] Lightning, you can do it, ”he said on Twitter’s Q3 call. [markets], so that gives us a lot more speed. “

In other words, Jack Dorsey sees the Bitcoin network as a valuable digital payment system with real value and useful applications. It is doing what it can to promote this point of view and also to create more use cases for Bitcoin payments. Twitter and Square offer him two very different platforms from which he can pursue this vision of Bitcoin payments on a daily basis.

Image source: Getty Images.

Al Kelly builds digital partnerships

On the fourth quarter call in late October, Visa (NYSE: V) CEO Al Kelly highlighted how cryptocurrency support is helping the credit card services giant form new partnerships:

Whether it is leveraging account data for value-added services or facilitating the movement of money from account to account or payment by bank, open banking creates opportunities for Visa to offer our customers and partners a one-stop shop for money movement, security, data, and valuable customer experiences. Blockchains will also continue to expand our network of networks. Our settlement capabilities and continued innovation around APIs and crypto services have been key to winning new partnerships. We have nearly 60 crypto platform partners capable of issuing Visa credentials, and we already capture over $ 3.5 billion in payment volume in FY ’21.

That’s $ 3.5 billion out of $ 165 billion in transactions processed in fiscal 2021. Visa can rely much more on the blockchain-based payments space before it runs out of unexplored growth opportunities. For now, the company is happy to help its credit card issuing partners launch Visa cards linked to Bitcoin and other digital assets. Most of the company’s cryptocurrency payment actions cross international borders, fulfilling an unmet need for fast and inexpensive international money transfers.

Image source: Getty Images.

Chuck MacFarlane sees opportunity in Bitcoin mining deals

Here is a different perspective. In the third quarter, Minnesota-based energy company Otter Tail (NASDAQ: OTTR) landed a large-scale power deal with private cryptocurrency mining specialist Applied Blockchain. Otter Tail CEO Chuck MacFarlane celebrated this Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) mining deal during the third quarter earnings call on November 2.

“The demand from the customer’s facilities could approach 100 megawatts with a high load factor and the capacity of [lower their power draw as necessary]”MacFarlane said.” We expect this load to be fully online by the end of the first quarter of 2022. “

The digital mining deal was made possible by low tariff rates in Otter Tail’s North Dakota market. Applied Blockchain is a “low margin customer,” even under these favorable circumstances, MacFarlane said, but low margins still translate into significant revenue and operating profits thanks to the cryptocurrency miner’s huge power needs. .

MacFarlane would be happy to take on more Bitcoin mining contracts like this, if more opportunities materialize. Political pressure may well generate even more Bitcoin business. Applied Blockchain originally planned to operate its mining facilities in China, but was forced to move elsewhere when regulators in Beijing cracked down on Bitcoin miners over the summer. Many other China-based miners are also looking for cheap electricity deals on American soil.

This article represents the opinion of the author, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a premium Motley Fool consulting service. We are heterogeneous! Questioning an investment thesis – even one of our own – helps us all to think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

[ad_2]