Block Sees Bitcoin Disrupting Payments Networks, Expects Self-Custody to Grow

Bitcoin has potential to disrupt existing traditional payment networks especially with the growing adoption of the Lightning Network, Block Inc. (SQ) said during its virtual investor day Wednesday.

“Bitcoin is going to have a profound impact on financial services, particularly as a tool for economic empowerment and as a global currency for the internet,” Block’s CFO Amrita Ahuja said during the presentation.

Block, formerly known as Square, is building integrated hardware and software to address self-custody with its wallet, along with a decentralized mining system. Its CEO, Jack Dorsey, is a well-known proponent of Bitcoin.

“These initiatives are early in their development,” Ahuja said. “We intend to build out in the open.” She added that Block expects self-custody to be the “future of decentralized finance” as the process becomes easier for individuals.

With respect to mining, Ahuja said it’s currently “not conducive for consumers or small companies to participate,” and so Block wants to expand a broader range of stakeholders to access this market. Ahuja said Block’s mining initiative also seeks to add resilience and security to the bitcoin ecosystem.

Ahuja said Block’s TBD initiative wants to enhance and change how consumers and financial institutions interact, ranging from verifying indemnity to underwriting and transferring money globally.

In the first quarter, Cash App, Block’s peer-to-peer payments service that allows users to directly buy and sell bitcoin, generated $1.73 billion in bitcoin transactions and $43 million of gross profit. Block also holds a significant amount of bitcoin on its balance sheet.

Read more: Jack Dorsey, Block and the Perils of Making Crypto User-Friendly