Square bought 3,318 BTC and generated $ 3.51 billion in bitcoin revenue in the first quarter of 2021

Bitcoin-focused payment company Square has bought 3,318 more BTC, generating $ 3.51 billion in bitcoin revenue, according to an earnings report.

Square (NASDAQ: SQ) today announced its results for the first quarter of 2021. The company continued to strive to hold Bitcoin as a “tool to strengthen the global economy,” and made huge profits from its $ 220 million bitcoin purchases.

“In February 2021, we invested $ 170 million in Bitcoin because we believe that cryptocurrencies are an instrument of economic strengthening that is in line with the company’s purpose,” the earnings report said.

With this $ 170 million purchase, the company bought an additional 3,318 bitcoin at an average price of $ 51,235.68 per bitcoin. This complements Square’s first purchase of 4,709 Bitcoin for $ 50 million, which the company announced in October 2020 and which was valued at approximately $ 263.2 million at the time of writing. The company currently holds 8,027 Bitcoin valued at around $ 448 million, making it the third largest Bitcoin holding of any publicly traded company.

“We see Bitcoin as the internet’s potential to have a local currency and we want to promote that as much as possible,” said Jack Dorsey, CEO of Square, during a call for earnings. “Our focus is that Bitcoin is the local currency, it removes a lot of friction for our business, and we firmly believe that it will create more opportunities for economic empowerment around the world.”

Square posted staggering Bitcoin sales of $ 3.51 billion in the first quarter of 2021 and gross profit of $ 75 million, up around 1,000 percent year-over-year in each case. The company’s gross income was $ 964 million, up 79% from the prior year.

The Cash app, Square’s payment app and bitcoin sales portal, also saw phenomenal growth this quarter, posting gross income of $ 495 million, up 171% year over year.

At the end of the quarter, Square had $ 4.8 billion in liquidity, of which $ 4.3 billion was in cash and $ 500 million was available to withdraw from the company’s revolving credit facility.

Going forward, Square will continue to offer Bitcoin services to its customers and use Bitcoin as an economic empowerment tool to hold its own against the competition.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.