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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Anthony Cuthbertson

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey buying $10,000 in bitcoin each week as he predicts 'massive' price rise

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has revealed he is spending thousands of dollars a week on bitcoin in anticipation of a major turnaround for the cryptocurrency market.

Mr Dorsey, who is also the founder and CEO of mobile payments company Square, has been a vocal advocate of the cryptocurrency since 2017 but had never before spoken about his own holdings.

Speaking on the Tales from the Crypt podcast, Mr Dorsey explained how he became fascinated by bitcoin two years ago due to its potential for disrupting payments and the broader financial industry.

"Imagine being born this year, growing up only knowing that the potential for a global currency exists – that is exciting," he told podcast host Marty Bent.

"What that person does with that realisation is amazing... It feels like that just accelerates things even faster. So I think there's a massive acceleration that's going to happen within the next 10 years."

During the 30-minute interview, Mr Dorsey revealed that he had maxed out the $10,000 spending limits on his company's application Cash App in recent weeks. 

A recent trend on Twitter known as Stack Sat Saturday has seen fellow bitcoin enthusiasts buy $25 worth of the cryptocurrency every Saturday.

"I saw that on Twitter," Mr Dorsey said. "I would have participated but I've already exceeded my limit."

The price of bitcoin crashed following its peak in December 2017 but has steadied since the start of 2019 (Getty Images)

Ultimately, Mr Dorsey said he believed that bitcoin or another cryptocurrency would become the "native currency" of the internet that has the same borderless and global reach as the internet itself.

The Square CEO added that his payments company is actively researching and developing ways to support the bitcoin community and help make it happen.

"I don't wait around for that to happen to me or to us as a company, I want to help make it happen," he said.

"To me it all goes back to the internet. What does the internet want to be? It wants a currency, it's always wanted a currency, it just hasn't had the technology until 10 years ago."

Other major tech companies have also shown an interest in cryptocurrency include Facebook, which is rumoured to be developing its own digital currency to roll out across its messaging app WhatsApp.

A secret team of around 50 Facebook employees are working on a blockchain project that is expected to go live within the next four months.

Fellow messaging apps Telegram and Signal are also planning their own cryptocurrencies, either of which could help propel cryptocurrency into the mainstream through their significant reach.

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