
Square announces pilot program to accept Bitcoin - matt_wulfeck
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/15/bitcoin-jumps-more-than-9-percent-after-news-square-is-testing-the-digital-currency.html
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DalasNoin
Seems like bad timing, the transaction fees compared to other crypto
currencies are massive right now[1] and the transaction speed is just as bad,
with 70.000 pending transactions[2]. Im assume that this situation is going to
become better. Apparently one reason is, that segwit transaction space is
barely used at the moment.

[1][https://bitinfocharts.com/de/comparison/transactionfees-
btc-...](https://bitinfocharts.com/de/comparison/transactionfees-btc-
eth.html#6m)

[2][https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#24h](https://jochen-
hoenicke.de/queue/#24h)

~~~
DrJid
I think you're assuming that Square is going to do all of bitcoin transactions
on chain.

I reckon they will handle most of these in their internal ledger the exact
same way they handle USD type transactions. BTC could only move from the core
secure wallets when BTC are leaving their systems.

~~~
DalasNoin
There is probably no other way than to do it off-chain. I guess the
transactions required to send your bitcoin to a wallet(if this feature will be
enabled) might already be a problem. but this brings us to the entire bitcoin
as a store of value idea, square will probably avoid the fees with bulk
purchase of bitcoins. I have a big problem with that, bitcoin block rewards
relative to the total value of bitcoin are going to decline over time. After
the 2020 halving the block reward will be less than 2% the value of the
network[1]. i assume satoshi imagined that overtime people will use
transaction fees to secure the network. with bitcoin core moving to off chain
solutions with no fees, i dont see how this will work out.

[1][http://www.bitcoinblockhalf.com/](http://www.bitcoinblockhalf.com/)

~~~
scientaster
Unfortunately, since everything is off chain in third parties' hands, bitcoin
is slowly becoming what it meant to replace.

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MBCook
This appears to be support for people to buy/sell bitcoin, not to buy/sell
WITH bitcoin. Can anyone confirm which it is?

~~~
lcusack
Yes, this is in the Square Cash app not their POS product.

~~~
MBCook
Thanks. Still interesting though. Who holds the wallet? Can I spend my
bitcoins at non-bitcoin merchants using the physical card they offer?

It doesn’t look like Square Cash supports other countries or currencies, I
suppose this would be a bit of a way around that.

~~~
lcusack
yeah, those are interesting questions. I assume either they hold the wallet or
some exchange they are using behind the scenes.

It would make a lot of sense if you could start using your Square Cash Card
funded by BTC. That would be cool from a long term vision.

I've been using the Shift Card for a few months which functions like a debit
card but is funded from my BTC on coinbase.

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olegkikin
They should really accept multiple cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is too slow now
with the blocks full. At least Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash should be
considered.

~~~
Casseres
If Square wants to be a cash intermediary, they should offer Monero. It's the
most cash-like coin available since it's the only one that's fungible - an
important aspect of any currency. The only problem is that it's not as
recognized as Bitcoin, so maybe they're just trying to attract publicity and
new users?

~~~
imnotatwork
The ring signatures have a big scalability problem, and the cryptographoic
strenght of the monero anonymity is all but proven. Monero is an interesting
experiment but its feasibility as a long term store of value is to be provem.

Also, moving some transactions off-chain transaction will effectively mix the
coins and strenght anonymity.

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dna_polymerase
Why would they implement Bitcoin. Guys, seriously Ethereum is a way better
method for actual payments. Shorter block times, the network is not congested
at all, and they already process more transactions than BTC does per day.

~~~
MBCook
Really?

Bitcoin has name recognition with the general public. Full stop.

Whatever the technical advantages/disadvantages are between those two (and any
others) I imagine only Bitcoin has enough demand for them to think it would be
worthwhile to implement.

~~~
LyndsySimon
With services like Shapeshift, it almost doesn't make sense at all to tie
yourself to a single blockchain.

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nickporter
From the info I've seen, it looks like the app doesn't allow you to transfer
btc right now. You can use it to buy, sell or hodl btc only.

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nikolay
What a neat marketing trick! As nobody uses Square Cash today, they want to
attract the loyal-to-death Bitcoin crowd in hopes to save their product as
pretty much everybody's using Venmo now and Cash didn't get any adoption.

~~~
Operyl
I guess I'm nobody then, as are the 30 or so friends I have that send money to
each other using Cash.

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nikolay
But why? What's wrong with Venmo?

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Operyl
Sending money to your debit card was free for a time, and I had no problem
sending 400-500 bucks to a friend same day as a result. At this point, it’s
just a matter of “why switch?”

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standupstandup
_Digital currency trading firm Genesis Global Trading found bitcoin tends to
recover dramatically from large drops. The last four times bitcoin has fallen
more than 20 percent this year, it has gained an average 28 percent in the two
weeks following, and an average 61.5 percent in the four weeks following, the
analysis showed._

[https://medium.com/@bitfinexed](https://medium.com/@bitfinexed) to find out
why

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hotfire
I wonder how they hedge price fluctuations

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imnotatwork
Really holding user's coins?

