Jack Dorsey Advocates Internet Currency

In the future, Square CEO Jack Dorsey thinks that the internet deserves a “native currency.” If that were to happen, he is rooting for one particular currency, CoinDesk reported: “I hope it will be bitcoin,” Dorsey said at a cryptocurrency conference in New York on Wednesday (May 16). “I’m a huge fan.”

Even so, Dorsey acknowledged that there is still a debate at Square over whether bitcoin will be the backbone of all payments on the internet. “There’s still a lot of skepticism and a lot of debate and a lot of fights,” Dorsey said. “But that’s where the magic happens, where creativity happens.”

Still, Dorsey thinks that bitcoin leads a vision of open access, and that concept is key to Square. “Any payment that comes across our table, the seller should be able to accept,” Dorsey said.

In November, Square got into bitcoin by letting some of its customers purchase the cryptocurrency. According to news from Bloomberg, the company started to allow Square Cash mobile app users to make bitcoin purchases at the time. In a statement, Square said it is exploring how the company can make the mobile app faster and easier to use by rolling out the ability to purchase bitcoin to a small number of its Square Cash customers.

“Given Square’s tendency to move judiciously into new technologies, we expect it will do the same with bitcoin purchases,” Credit Suisse AG analyst Paul Condra wrote in a note to clients at the time. “The upside could be significant if cryptocurrencies become more mainstream.”

News that the digital payment company would enable purchase of the cryptocurrency sent bitcoin’s stock price higher in early trading on Nov. 15. Dorsey, a big supporter of bitcoin, helped enable merchants to accept it as a payment method back in 2014. He also famously tweeted last year: “Bitcoin: we tried this with our eCommerce store years back. Didn’t see much. Would love to see a digital currency thrive.”