Twitter Thought to Copy Tesla’s Bitcoin Bet, Says CFO

Tesla’s huge bet on bitcoin could be followed by other major corporates as Twitter also has thought about adding the cryptocurrency to its balance sheet. However, no decision to follow in the electric-car maker’s footsteps has been made yet, Twitter’s chief financial officer told CNBC.

Ned Segal, CFO at the social media platform, said in an interview that Twitter had thought whether it could put part of their spare money into bitcoin. The idea would only aim to pay vendors or employees using bitcoin, should they ask to transact using the cryptocurrency.

Tesla’s bitcoin purchase could further open up the idea to a whole new class of mainstream corporates and institutional investors.

“We might consider whether we would be transferring dollars to bitcoin at the time of the transaction or if we wanted bitcoin on our balance sheet ready to complete that transaction,” Segal said.

Twitter’s angle closely mimics its founder and CEO, Jack Dorsey, one of bitcoin’s foremost proponents who has repeatedly shared his enthusiasm for digital currencies, saying it provides an “opportunity to get more people access to the financial system.” He went further than most by calling bitcoin “a transformational technology” and it will be the world’s single currency in 10 years.

Dorsey’s Payment Arm Already Bets on Bitcoin

Square Inc., a payments company also founded and run by Dorsey, made headlines in October when it made a significant purchase of a little over 4,700 bitcoins. At the time of transaction, the big bet worth nearly $50 million, but this value has more than quadrupled in only three months. Having met financial obligations to shareholders, the company carried through with its plans to invest around one percent of its total assets at the end of Q2 of 2020.

Explaining the rationale behind this move, Square’s CFO said he believes that bitcoin has the potential to be “a more ubiquitous currency” in the future. Continuing, he argued that as the cryptocurrency grows in adoption, they intend to “learn and participate in a disciplined way. For a company that is building products based on a more inclusive future, this investment is a step on that journey.”

Ahuja also believes that bitcoin’s very structure will ensure that its value will only increase with time.

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