Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and the payments startup Square, is hiring up to four full-time crypto engineers and one designer for Square who will report directly to him, raising some questions — but mostly cheers — about how much this move will influence the bitcoin development community.
Dorsey put out the help-wanted call on Twitter, saying that he’d be willing to pay salaries in bitcoin, and he also made an introduction: “Introducing @SqCrypto. Why?”
Dorsey tweeted that it’s time to give back by supporting the open source development of Bitcoin. “Square has taken a lot from the open source community to get us here,” he tweeted.
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The Cash App, made by Square, allows users to buy and sell bitcoin.
It seems that Dorsey’s interest in it is for more than just professional reasons, Mashable reported. “We believe fundamentally in a global currency, in a native currency for the internet,” Dorsey said at the 2018 annual Consensus blockchain conference.
In Silicon Valley, the CEO of Square and Twitter has been one of the most enthusiastic bitcoin believers and advocates, CCN reported. At Consensus 2018, Dorsey said he was rooting for bitcoin to be adopted as the internet’s native currency.
Dorsey he said he got the idea to hire crypto engineers from Square’s development lead, Mike Brock.
“Last week I was considering my hack week project, and asked @brockm: ‘what is the most impactful thing we could do for the bitcoin community?’ His answer was simple: ‘Pay people to make the broader crypto ecosystem better.’ This resonated with me immediately, so we’re doing it.”
This will be Square’s first open-source initiative independent of the company’s business objectives, Dorsey tweeted. “These folks will focus entirely on what’s best for the crypto community and individual economic empowerment, not on Square’s commercial interests. All resulting work will be open and free.”
It’s his way of giving back, Dorsey said. “Square has taken a lot from the open source community to get us here. We haven’t given enough back. This is a small way to give back, and one that’s aligned with our broader interests: a more accessible global financial system for the internet.”
Then Dorsey explained why he is investing in crypto technology. “I love this technology and community,” he tweeted. “I’ve found it to be deeply principled, purpose-driven, edgy, and…really weird. Just like the early internet! I’m excited to get to learn more directly.”
Many of the responses to Dorsey’s announcement ranged from relief and thankfulness to ecstatic.
The new crypto engineer hires”will focus entirely on what’s best for the crypto community and individual economic empowerment, not on Square’s commercial interests,” Dorsey tweeted. “All resulting work will be open and free.”
Dorsey launched Bitcoin trading in January 2018 on Square’s CashApp and it was a good year for Square, according to CCN:
“In the first half of 2018 revenues were $71 million while profits came in at $0.6 million. During the second half, bitcoin revenues rose to $95 million while profits increased to $1.047 million.
“The Square CEO has also made personal investments in bitcoin as well as in bitcoin startups. Last year he participated in Lightning Labs’ seed funding round which raised $2.5 million. And recently, Dorsey revealed that he has been maxing out the $10,000 weekly limit of bitcoin purchases on Cash App.
“Dorsey has skin in the game. And that might be a good thing for Bitcoin.”
