On November 6th, Square released a Q3 letter to shareholders, giving some insight as to how their Bitcoin offerings are going. According to Square, Cash App’s “First-time bitcoin buyers have approximately doubled.”
Still, with the double in Bitcoin buyers, profit hasn’t been as significant as other money making systems in the app. Approximately 146 million was spent on Bitcoin transactions for what totaled to be 148 million in revenue. This leaves total profit from Bitcoin transactions at around $2 million.
Cash App changes Bitcoin profit model
Originally, the crypto community’s feedback about Cash App was positive, as small Bitcoin purchases cost lest on Cash App then on Coinbase. This is because instead of charging a stagnant fee, Cash App used a price spread. On Coinbase, a $10 Bitcoin purchase will cost $1 in fees or 10%. The only time fees cost around 1% is when a buyer gets in the $1000 range. Cash App originally charged no fees, but instead had a price spread of about 1.5%.
Coindesk noticed yesterday that Cash App changed it’s approach, adding a Bitcoin fee section to their faq. Now, there is a transaction fee and a fee depending on volatility across the market, neither of give an estimate amount. For a $10 Bitcoin purchase, Cash App is telling me that I will pay $10.17 at a price $2 above Coinbase, which is still much cheaper than Coinbase. A $250 transaction is currently charging around 1.7% or $4.45 which is closer to what it would have been in the previous months.
Square did not clarify their reasoning regarding changing their purchasing model, but speculators believe that they are looking for higher margins.
The app is consistently adding features
Cash App recently announced that they were adding stock trading to their app. Right inside the section where users can purchase Bitcoin, they will be able to slide a switch to find stocks. Instead of taking money out of Bitcoin when the price is falling and going right back into fiat, users will have incentives to keep their money on the app by investing in the traditional market. The feature’s release date is still to be determined.
Another feature they added for Bitcoin recently is the ability to withdraw funds. This gives traders an incentive to use the app, as it has lower fees than Coinbase, and they can instantly send it wherever they want. Coinbase has 19 day periods in which users are not able to withdraw when purchasing from a linked bank account.
Now, some of the most important features they are missing for crypto investors is an easy to use wallet feature so that newcomers can learn to keep their own keys. Also, the ability to dollar-cost-average through automatic purchases would likely be welcomed.