On October 8, 2020, Jack Dorsey’s payments company Square announced it had purchased approximately 4,709 bitcoins for $50 million — making it the second publicly traded US company after MicroStrategy to invest corporate treasury funds directly into Bitcoin. The announcement, delivered via a tweet from Square’s investor relations account, marks a watershed moment in institutional cryptocurrency adoption and validates the argument that Bitcoin deserves a place on corporate balance sheets.
TL;DR
- Square purchased ~4,709 bitcoins for $50 million on October 8, 2020
- The investment represents approximately 1% of Square’s total assets
- Square is the second publicly-listed US company to buy Bitcoin, following MicroStrategy’s $425 million purchase
- Bitcoin was trading at approximately $10,915 at the time of the announcement
- Square’s Cash App generated $875 million in Bitcoin sales in Q2 2020 alone
The Purchase That Shook Wall Street
Square’s Bitcoin acquisition was not a speculative gamble by a fringe tech company. With a market capitalization measured in the tens of billions, Square is one of America’s most prominent fintech firms — and its CEO Jack Dorsey also happens to run Twitter. The $50 million investment, while modest relative to Square’s total valuation, carries outsized symbolic weight precisely because of who made it and why.
In its announcement, Square stated that it “believes cryptocurrency is an instrument of economic empowerment and provides a way to participate in a global monetary system, which aligns with the company’s purpose.” This is not corporate jargon — Dorsey has been a vocal Bitcoin advocate for years, and this move effectively puts Square’s money where its CEO’s mouth has long been.
Building on an Existing Bitcoin Business
The investment did not come out of nowhere. Square’s Cash App began selling Bitcoin directly to users in May 2020, and the numbers have been impressive. Bitcoin sales on the platform reached $875 million in the second quarter of 2020, generating $17 million in gross profit. Square was already deeply embedded in the Bitcoin ecosystem — the $50 million treasury purchase simply extended that commitment from facilitating transactions to holding the asset itself.
This dual approach — both enabling Bitcoin commerce and holding Bitcoin reserves — positions Square uniquely among major US companies. It is not merely betting on Bitcoin’s price appreciation; it is building infrastructure for a Bitcoin-based financial system.
The MicroStrategy Effect
Square’s move follows MicroStrategy’s headline-grabbing $425 million Bitcoin purchase completed just weeks earlier in September 2020. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor had been equally vocal about Bitcoin’s merits as a treasury reserve asset, and his company’s aggressive accumulation served as a proof of concept for public companies considering similar allocations.
Notably, both companies appear to have used sophisticated acquisition techniques to avoid disrupting market prices. Analysts believe Square employed an iceberg order strategy — executing many small buy orders to prevent a single large transaction from moving the market. MicroStrategy’s Saylor confirmed his firm used a similar approach, suggesting that institutional Bitcoin accumulation is becoming a refined practice rather than a brute-force purchase.
What This Means for Corporate Treasury Strategy
The implications extend well beyond Square and MicroStrategy. Messari, a cryptocurrency research firm, predicted earlier in 2020 that Bitcoin could reach $50,000 if institutional buyers allocated just 1% of their asset portfolios to the cryptocurrency. Square’s purchase — representing exactly 1% of its total assets — is essentially a live test of this thesis.
With Bitcoin trading around $10,915 and Ethereum at approximately $350 on the day of the announcement, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization hovered around $340 billion. If even a small fraction of corporate treasuries worldwide followed Square’s lead, the demand pressure on Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply would be substantial.
Analysts like Willy Woo have argued that these institutional developments are laying the groundwork for a bullish end to 2020 for Bitcoin — a prediction that would prove remarkably prescient in the months ahead.
Why This Matters
Square’s $50 million Bitcoin purchase is not just a story about one company’s investment decision. It represents the mainstreaming of Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset, validated by a payments company with deep fintech credibility. When the CEO of both Twitter and Square publicly allocates corporate funds to Bitcoin, it signals to every CFO in America that the conversation about digital assets on balance sheets has moved from hypothetical to operational.
The timing is also significant. On the same day Square announced its purchase, the US Department of Justice released its comprehensive Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework — a reminder that institutional adoption and regulatory scrutiny are advancing in parallel. The companies that succeed in this space will be those that embrace Bitcoin while navigating the increasingly clear regulatory landscape the DOJ has now formally outlined.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions.
square putting 1% of assets into btc. microstrategy did $425M. the corporate treasury dominoes are falling
square at 1% and microstrategy going all in. the corporate treasury adoption curve from 2020 to 2026 has been insane to watch
treasury_alloc_ 1% for square vs microstrategy going full degen with 425M. saylor’s approach was the attention grabber but dorsey’s 1% was the one other CFOs actually replicated
HodlHarry the 1% model was copied by exactly nobody though. every public company that followed suit went full Saylor mode. dorsey made it acceptable but saylor made it aspirational
Marcus B. yeah Saylor really turned it into a status symbol for corps, Dorsey just opened the door but the real momentum came from seeing those gains pile up
hodl_nodoom_ those 4709 coins at that avg price are insane now, wish I had the balls to just sit on it like that instead of trading around
Cash App did $875M in btc sales in Q2 alone and people questioned whether Square understood crypto. Dorsey gets it
when the guy running both twitter and a payments company puts corporate money into btc, thats not a bet anymore. thats conviction
everyone talks about the treasury buy but Cash App doing 875M in btc revenue that same quarter was the bigger signal. Dorsey built both rails at once
4709 btc at ~$10915. those coins are worth an absurd amount now. the best trade was buying and doing nothing
4709 btc at an average of $10,915. sq is sitting on over 500% gains. who else managed corporate capital this well
4709 BTC at $10,915 sitting on 500%+ gains. the best corporate trade was buying and letting accounting handle the rest
hodl_nodoom_ 4709 btc at 10915 is insane but the real flex is square also ran Cash App doing 875M in btc volume. they had revenue AND treasury gains, not just diamond hands
875M in BTC volume through Cash App AND a treasury allocation. dorsey was building the entire stack while everyone else was writing thinkpieces
Square buying at 10915 and 4 years later every Fortune 500 CFO has a bitcoin line item on their balance sheet. dorsey started the domino
square at 1% and microstrategy at 40%+ of treasury. the corporate btc adoption curve is just getting started
1% of total assets sounds small until you realize Square was a $50B+ company at the time. other CFOs used that exact framing to get their first allocation approved
Cash App doing 875M in btc volume that quarter and people still questioned if Square was serious about crypto. Dorsey was building the whole stack
1% of assets sounds tiny until you realize it forced every other CFO to at least have the conversation. square made btc treasury allocations boardroom-acceptable
0xledger exactly. microstrategy did the bold move, square made it mainstream. after that every treasury team had a case study to point to
Nadia W. between square and microstrategy, every fortune 500 CFO had to answer the bitcoin treasury question in their next board meeting. dorsey normalized it
Mei-Ling C. exactly, now every board deck has a slide on it – square’s move made it safe to even discuss without getting laughed at