On March 1, nearly two years after Jack Dorsey's technology group Block (then known as Square) announced plans to build a self-custodial bitcoin wallet, the company revealed that more work was needed on its plans, with Block being Actively looking for partners to "make it happen". As Block stated, partnerships are needed to move assets between the fiat and bitcoin financial systems and provide users with the access and information they need to buy, sell and store bitcoin, Safe and easy.
The company said it is prioritizing a quality over quantity approach to selecting on- and off-ramp partners. In addition to technical, product and UI expertise, Block said potential collaborators will need to demonstrate price transparency, depth of local payment method coverage, and competence in onboarding and exit processes to meet its criteria.
In addition to on-ramp partners, Block also plans to form other types of partnerships, such as retail and distribution partners and payment partnerships, which the company hopes will increase the use case and relevance of bitcoin as a payment method. American tech entrepreneur and billionaire Jack Dorsey has become an outspoken supporter of blockchain technology in recent years. On December 1, 2021, Cointelegraph reported that Square changed its name to Block as Dorsey said the company would shift its focus to cryptocurrencies. On November 19, 2021, Dorsey released a white paper outlining a decentralized bitcoin exchange. However, there was a noticeable lack of activity after the initial announcement.
