Square sets a record revenue, profits still low

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US payments company Square announced its highest-ever revenue from its sale of Bitcoin Core (BTC). The company revealed in its report to investors that it had generated $65.5 million in BTC revenue in the first quarter of this year. The figure represents a 25 percent increase from the previous quarter where the company generated $52.4 million in revenue from BTC sales.

However, the unaudited report revealed that the firm is still struggling with a small profit margin. From its $65.5 million in sales, it only generated $832,000 in profits. While the profit is still 70 percent higher than it was in the last quarter of 2018, it’s yet to hit the figures many expect from the operation. The company also revealed that its total revenue grew 43 percent to stand at $959 million.

The report by Square goes against the grim picture that many crypto skeptics have painted. According to them, interest in cryptos has fizzled out in the past year. However, it seems that it hasn’t and interest is growing at a high rate. What’s more, Square has recorded a rising interest in its BTC product for the past four quarters. In 2018, the company sold more than $166 million worth of BTC.

Crypto researcher and analyst Ryan Todd took to Twitter to explain just how significant the announcement by Square was. According to him, accounting for the change in BTC prices, the volume on Square is up more than 70 percent.

Square just reported a record $65.5m in quarterly bitcoin sales. Assuming average BTC prices in 1Q19 (not perfect) that translates to ~ 17K worth of BTC volume, up over 70% since 4Q and +5x volumes in 1Q18. Impressive considering April's run hits 2Q's numbers pic.twitter.com/6oV2OnnNW2

— Ryan Todd (@ryanjtodd_) May 1, 2019

Founded by Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey, Square has done more than just offer a crypto purchasing platform. Recently, Jack announced that Square Crypto would hire engineers to develop a better crypto ecosystem. The engineers would report to him directly and would be paid in crypto.

Despite all the efforts, not everyone has been impressed with Square’s efforts. To some, Jack has managed to manipulate the crypto community into becoming die-hard Square fans. One of the people who share this opinion is Cobra Bitcoin, the anonymous owner of Bitcoin.org. He took to Twitter to criticize Jack and Square:

https://twitter.com/CobraBitcoin/status/1116056095846490112