Shares in Square (NYSE: SQ) jumped on Monday as the mobile payments app received regulatory approval for to trade cryptocurrencies in New York, according to CNBC. A welcome feature for customers that want to use cryptocurrencies.
The company’s CEO, Jack Dorsey is also the CEO, co-founder of Twitter and has expressed support for cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin. Square is competing with PayPal and Venmo (now owned by PayPal), which haven’t been as supportive of cryptocurrencies as they have.
Kate Rooney from CNBC said:
‘The New York State Department of Financial Services granted Square a virtual currency license, which gives the company access to an “expanding and well-regulated virtual currency market,” Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said in a statement.’
The license was referred to as a ‘BitLicense’, and Square is the 9th company to receive one from New York State.
Many cryptocurrency users already use apps such as Coinbase, Binance, among others to exchange cryptocurrencies on their phones, but incorporating that functionality into an established payment app could provide cryptocurrencies with greater exposure to the general public and encourage the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. Square had about 7 million active users in December alone.
