Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey is one of the biggest Bitcoin cheerleaders in Silicon Valley – Dorsey “loves” bitcoin.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency community worried about news last week, powerful Wall Street activist investor Elliott Management bought $ 1 billion worth of Twitter shares and is working to oust Dorsey from the company he helped build.
However, while bitcoin fans could applaud the recent addition of a bitcoin emoji to Twitter, Dorsey could do a lot for bitcoin and crypto without having to worry about running one of the biggest media sites. of the world.
Jack Dorsey manages both the micro-blogging platform Twitter and the payment company Square. Square a … [+]
The New York hedge fund Elliott Management is headed by Republican billionaire Paul Singer, who once described bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as “one of the brightest scams in history.”
But if Singer gets his way on Twitter, the bitcoin and crypto industry is unlikely to be significantly affected – Elliott Management is much more concerned about Twitter’s stock price performance, how it deals major world events such as the spread of the coronavirus and the upcoming US elections and accusations of political bias against the company.
Meanwhile, Dorsey would be free to devote her considerable time and resources to the other company he leads: the payments giant Square, as well as its new cryptocurrency division and bitcoin buying sensation Cash App .
Square’s Cash app generated almost half of its bitcoin revenue in the last quarter of 2019, generating revenue of $ 178 million between early October and late December, with gross profits of 3 million dollars, up 50% from the previous two quarters.
Meanwhile, Square Crypto, Square’s bitcoin development unit, this week awarded grants to two bitcoin developers, allowing them to work full time on open source projects benefiting the bitcoin network.
In January, Square Crypto released a Lightning development kit to help grow the Lightning network of bitcoin, a second-layer technology that could help bitcoin evolve by allowing small payments to occur far from the bitcoin blockchain. .
“Square Crypto focuses on Lightning,” Dorsey said via Twitter.
Dorsey’s growing interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, however, caused problems for her.
Last year, Dorsey drew criticism from Twitter and Square investors when he promised to spend three to six months in Africa to explore cryptocurrency opportunities in 2020.
“Sad to leave [Africa]… for now, “said Dorsey via Twitter. “Africa will define the future (especially that of bitcoin!). I don’t know where yet, but I will be living here for 3 to 6 months in mid-2020.”
Interest in bitcoin and crypto from some of the world’s largest tech companies has … [+]
Last year, the price of bitcoin soared due to interest in bitcoin and cryptography from tech giants, including social media giant Facebook and iPhone maker Apple, reaching heights of around $ 14,000 per bitcoin before weakening in the face of a rigorous regulatory review.
Facebook’s plans for what it hoped to be a private cryptocurrency beating bitcoin, the scales, derailed, leaving bitcoin, the original and by far the most valuable cryptocurrency, the forerunner of what Dorsey said to be the “first currency of the Internet”.
Dorsey’s support for bitcoin under her Twitter leadership has been good for the image of crypto, but it’s Square, not Twitter, that will make bitcoin a mainstream.
