Square Inc. executives highlighted the company's interest in bitcoin and its plans to pursue involvement in the emerging technology.
In November 2017, Square started allowing select customers to buy and sell bitcoins on its Cash app. On a call to discuss fourth-quarter 2017 earnings, CEO Jack Dorsey said the company's interest in bitcoin does not stop at buying and selling the token, adding that it is a "transformational technology" that presents an opportunity to provide more people access to the financial system.
The payment processor saw its fourth consecutive quarter of growth and reported fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted net income of $35.0 million. CFO Sarah Friar noted that bitcoin was immaterial to financials in the fourth quarter, adding that it was not until January that Square rolled out buying and selling the cryptocurrency to all of its customers.
Square monetizes this feature by including a cushion in the price when it offers to buy or sell a customer's ownership in bitcoin, Friar said. The company has not added fixed fees, she added. The company has kept a "very small amount" of bitcoin, but Friar said it does not intend to hold much of the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet.
Dorsey noted that Square's efforts with the digital token are "in flux," as it continues to learn more about the rapidly evolving space.
Looking further into 2018, Dorsey said there is "significant opportunity" in Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.K., adding that the company's efforts will be focused on gaining share in those geographies. The executive said Square plans to expand the overall product offerings to sellers outside of the U.S.
Friar said Square is planning to focus on its current market in 2018 because "there's still a lot to be done."
"There's $6 trillion of consumer expenditures to go after online and offline in the whole omnichannel agreement," she added.
