Jack Dorsey says Square is looking to build bitcoin mining hardware for the masses, as the cryptocurrency climbs through $62,000

Jack Dorsey says Square is looking to build bitcoin mining hardware for the masses, as the cryptocurrency climbs through $62,000

CEO Jack Dorsey said the digital payments company is weighing up whether to create a simple-to-use bitcoin mining rig, and laid out how the generally available product could help the industry. "Square is considering building a bitcoin mining system based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and businesses worldwide," CEO Dorsey late Friday. "If we do this, we'd follow our hardware wallet model: build in the open in collaboration with the community." price hit a six-month-high of $62,000 following Dorsey's tweet on Friday, according to data from , taking its year-to-date gains to 114%. It was last trading around $62,179 on Monday. To mine the cryptocurrency, miners use specially-designed computer equipment to verify transactions in the process that creates newly-minted bitcoins. In his Twitter thread, Dorsey identified five issues in bitcoin mining. One was that mining is not accessible to everyone. "Bitcoin mining should be as easy as plugging a rig into a power source. There isn't enough incentive today for individuals to overcome the complexity of running a miner for themselves," he said. Dorsey has previously as one of the most important projects he wants to work on, saying he would leave the helm of Square and