Square to Build Bitcoin Hardware Wallet

Square is moving forward with plans to build a bitcoin hardware wallet, executives at the payments company said Thursday.

The company has begun assembling a team to handle the project, said hardware lead Jesse Dorogusker in a tweet, emphasizing the product is very much in the drawing-board stage. Nevertheless, he said Square will seek to bring a mobile-friendly, “assisted-self-custody” wallet to a global audience.

“We have decided to build a hardware wallet and service to make bitcoin custody more mainstream,” he said in the tweet. Square CEO Jack Dorsey followed up: “We’re doing it.”

Square’s status as a mainstream fintech would likely inject new attention into bitcoin custody. It has much wider name recognition than even the best-known hardware builders in the crypto industry. Square has carved out a niche in making bitcoin accessible through its Cash App. And Dorsey is himself aligned with the cryptocurrency on philosophical grounds.

Dorogusker did not immediately respond to CoinDesk queries.