Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) will reportedly be developing a hardware wallet for Bitcoin (BTC), the payments giant revealed on Thursday (July 8, 2021).
We’re doing it #Bitcoin https://t.co/IwbKuBoXGv
— jack (@jack) July 8, 2021
Square’s announcement came after US Senator Elizabeth Warren cautioned about the significant risks posed to American consumers and financial markets by the virtual currency market (including crypto trading platforms which Warren believes are undermining the US SEC’s efforts to ensure consumer protection).
Bitcoin or BTC wallets can be maintained offline and online at virtual currency exchanges, which are platforms where cryptocurrency may be purchased and sold for regular currencies or other digital coins.
With a non-custodial wallet, users are able to maintain sole control of their private keys, which allow them to control their digital currency holdings while being able to prove the funds really belong to them. Meanwhile, a custodial crypto wallet is controlled by another party which retains users’ private keys. Custodial wallets are mostly web-based exchange wallets.
Jesse Dorogusker, Head of Hardware at Square, noted that the company has made the decision to develop a specialized hardware wallet and service in order to make BTC custody “more mainstream” and easily accessible to a wider range of users.
Many firms have been offering solutions to help digital currency investors with protecting their holdings from hackers or other online fraudsters.
In June, Square and Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey had hinted that the Fintech firm may be looking into developing a non-custodial hardware wallet for BTC investors.
Square is considering making a hardware wallet for #bitcoin. If we do it, we would build it entirely in the open, from software to hardware design, and in collaboration with the community. We want to kick off this thinking the right way: by sharing some of our guiding principles.
— jack (@jack) June 4, 2021
Virtual currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have reached a record capitalization of more than $2 trillion in April, however, the US (and other jurisdictions) oversight of the nascent sector is still not up to standards when compared with regulations for traditional finance.
Warren, a former US presidential candidate, stated on Thursday (in a letter) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler that American authorities should lay the foundation for proper legislation to regulate the crypto markets.
