Block Releases Bitkey Bitcoin Wallet in Open Beta

Summary:
Block, a payments business by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, launched the open beta version of its Bitkey self-custodial Bitcoin wallet. It will facilitate BTC operations like sending and receiving, and will integrate with crypto exchanges like CashApp and Coinbase to make Bitcoin purchases in-app.

Payments company Block, founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, released its Bitkey self-custodial Bitcoin wallet into open beta on Thursday. To safely move BTC from Coinbase or CashApp to the wallet “without the friction of standard ‘copy and paste,'” the beta already includes interfaces with both providers.

Block Stock Surges

Block (SQ on the NYSE) has only released its beta to internal users up to this point. The new open beta program will allow anybody to try out the company’s products without having to pay anything. Thursday’s statement pushed SQ up by about 4%.

Pushing Bitcoin Adoption

The beta version of the hardware wallet will allow for simple tasks like sending and receiving Bitcoin and will have both PIN codes and fingerprint authentication for security. Eventually, the software will work with crypto exchanges like CashApp and Coinbase to enable users buy Bitcoin without leaving the app.

Coinbase has announced that, via a partnership with Bitkey, customers of both services will be able to take advantage of a “joint offer” later this year. By incorporating Bitcoin, they expect local currency transfers to become more convenient.

Bitcoin Advocate Forever

CashApp has been around for a while as a platform to buy and sell Bitcoins, and now it now accepts payments through Bitcoin and the lightning network. Bitkey wallet supports multi-signature transactions, but only on the main blockchain. Bitcoin mining software and foreign gateways are still being developed by companies headed by Jack Dorsey. The twitter co-founder is a strong advocate of Bitcoin.

Handpicked News: Jack Dorsey Pledges $5M to Brink to Support Bitcoin Developers

Start Small, a nonprofit founded by a millionaire, donated $5 million to the Bitcoin network’s developers on Monday. Bitcoin has a lot more of Dorsey’s support than other cryptocurrency networks, including Ethereum, which he considers to be an unregistered security.