Jack Dorsey outlines Square’s tentative plans for Bitcoin hardware wallet

Square Inc., the mobile payments company behind the popular Cash App, is strongly considering developing an open-source Bitcoin (BTC) wallet, signaling continued conviction in the future of digital currency payments.

“Square is considering making a hardware wallet for Bitcoin,” CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted Friday. “If we do it, we would build it entirely in the open, from software to hardware design, and in collaboration with the community.”

Square is considering making a hardware wallet for #bitcoin. If we do it, we would build it entirely in the open, from software to hardware design, and in collaboration with the community. We want to kick off this thinking the right way: by sharing some of our guiding principles.— jack (@jack) June 4, 2021

Dorsey outlined his rationale for a new Bitcoin hardware wallet in a series of posts where he reiterated the importance of self-custody and the need to create a seamless mobile experience for crypto users. In Dorsey’s view, “assisted self-custody” can greatly simplify the experience of managing one’s own crypto wallet:

“Custody doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. We can probably simplify custody through 'assisted self-custody.' Assisted requires great product design: minimal setup time, relying on existing devices, and end-to-end reliability.”

While self-custody is important, Dorsey said a confluence of forces are needed to attract new users to Bitcoin. “Layer 2 is essential for growth,” he said, adding:

“The orders-of-magnitude growth we imagine requires a mix of custodial, off-chain, and second layer solutions that allow people to ‘get off of 0.’ What tech investments can enable seamless, scalable, L2 native support for a hardware wallet?”

Square is one of the largest corporate holders of BItcoin, with 8,027 BTC on its balance sheet. Its holdings are currently worth $297 million based on current prices. Square’s Cash App is generating the bulk of its revenue from Bitcoin sales, highlighting growing retail interest in the digital asset class.