Square Crypto, the cryptocurrency unit of Jack Dorsey’s mobile-payment company Square, extolled the virtues of gimmicky bitcoin giveaways.
But then it didn’t offer to give any away. What a crypto tease!
Do bitcoin giveaways promote adoption?
Basically, Square Crypto argues that if you give bitcoin to someone (especially a skeptic), they’ll become emotionally invested in its success. Why? Because then they’ll have skin in the game.
“Giving away bitcoin is powerful,” Square Crypto cooed on Twitter. “People care more when they have a stake in something.”
However, some Twitter users disagreed.
One guy quipped that giving away bitcoin is “a powerful way to convince people that bitcoin is worthless.”
Product giveaways are a common marketing tool
Bitcoin enthusiasts often use giveaways to promote their projects in the hopes of boosting crypto adoption.
In July, the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, promoted the book “Bitcoin Billionaires” (which is about them) by tying it to a contest.
The prize for the winner was one bitcoin.
Gold bug got free BTC but continues to trash bitcoin
Similarly, bitcoin evangelist Anthony Pompliano recently gave some BTC to gold bug Peter Schiff.
Pompliano reasoned that if Schiff, a vocal bitcoin hater, had his own stash, then maybe he wouldn’t constantly trash BTC.
When all was said and done, Schiff collected a cool $1,900 in bitcoin from the crypto community. So did the donations change Schiff’s mind? Nope.
Schiff has continued to slam bitcoin and tout gold as a superior safe-haven asset amid stock market turmoil.
“Bitcoin has again failed the safe-haven test,” Schiff tweeted today (Aug. 28).
In contrast, Schiff noted that the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc, and especially gold, all spiked last week on the days the stock market tumbled.
“Yet bitcoin plunged more than stocks!” Schiff crowed.
Despite name, Square Crypto is bitcoin-focused
Square Crypto was launched in March 2019 by Twitter billionaire Jack Dorsey, a noted bitcoin bull.
Despite its name, Square Crypto is bitcoin-centric, as CCN reported. The company says it’s focusing on bitcoin above other cryptocurrencies because BTC has been around the longest.
That said, Square Crypto admits that “there’s still a lot that needs to be done before we reach mass adoption.”
To this end, Square Crypto recently hired Blockstream co-founder and Bitcoin core developer Matt Corallo.
On Twitter, Corallo gushed that he’s “so excited” to join Square. He added that “experimenting with different models to accelerate Bitcoin OSS is awesome!”
