Square Cash App Gains BitLicense to Offer Bitcoin Buying/Selling In New York

Earlier this year, Square began supporting Bitcoin as a payment method on its Cash app platform.

Announced on June 18, Cash app was granted a BitLicense to offer access to instant buying and selling of the world's leading cryptocurrency in the state of New York.Seventh BitLicense Ever Granted.

A stringent regulatory body, the New York Department of Financial Services has granted a total of seven BitLicenses to cryptocurrency-related companies since 2015.

Announced on June 18, Square Cash app's authorization will be the seventh BitLicense ever granted by the NYDFS and will enable the company to offer the buying and selling of bitcoin to users in New York state.

"Square and the New York State DFS share a vision of empowering people with greater access to the financial system and today's news is an important step in realizing that goal."

Square Inc. is a point-of-sale hardware and money transmission services company that uses innovative features to allow sellers to accept contactless payments and credit cards.

In early 2017, Square subsidiary, Cash app, entered into a partnership with Genesis Global Trading to enable the buying and selling of bitcoin through its platform.

"The license enables Genesis to facilitate the trading of several digital currencies, including bitcoin, with its institutional trading partners. Genesis is the first New York.-based trading firm to receive the license."

According to their Q1 2018 shareholder letter, Square has seen an additional $34 million in crypto-related revenue since the company began offering bitcoin as a payment method on the Cash app platform.

As a new potential facet of revenue, cryptocurrency continues to pervade industries across the board and enable a new method of frictionless peer-to-peer value transfer.