Programmers and tech designers alert: If you consider yourself as a Bitcoin believer who’s sick and tired of the 9-to-5 office schedule and the opaque vertical management structures typical of big companies, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey may have an ideal job for you.
Last night, the eccentric Twitter CEO shared a job ad on Twitter (of course) looking for a handful of crypto engineers and designers to join his mobile payment company, Square.
Subscribe to Observer’s Business Newsletter
“Square is hiring three to four crypto engineers and one designer to work full-time on open-source contributions to the Bitcoin/crypto ecosystem,” Dorsey wrote. “Work from anywhere, report directly to me, and we can even pay you in Bitcoin!”
The new hires will be tasked to develop Square’s first open-source initiative with the sole purpose of contributing to the cryptocurrency community.
#BitcoinTwitter and #CryptoTwitter! Square is hiring 3-4 crypto engineers and 1 designer to work full-time on open source contributions to the bitcoin/crypto ecosystem. Work from anywhere, report directly to me, and we can even pay you in bitcoin! Introducing @SqCrypto. Why?
— jack (@jack) March 20, 2019
Despite the heated debate over Bitcoin’s promise among Silicon Valley visionaries, Dorsey is a big fan of the invention. “The internet deserves a native currency; it will have a native currency,” he told an audience at the 2018 Consensus conference. “I don’t know if it will be Bitcoin or not. I hope it will be. I am a huge fan.”
“I love this technology and community. I’ve found it to be deeply principled, purpose-driven, edgy, and… really weird. Just like the early internet! I’m excited to get to learn more directly,” he said in a Wednesday tweet.
Square already has the “Cash App” that allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin. And so far, it seems to be a smart bet. Last year, the Cash App doubled its user count from 2017 and facilitated the purchase of $166 million worth of Bitcoin with steady trading volume growth every quarter.
But the new crypto team Dorsey is assembling this time will be different. Job performance for these engineers and designers won’t be measured against typical business objectives such as user growth and profit. Instead, it’s all about giving back to the community.
“These folks will focus entirely on what’s best for the crypto community and individual economic empowerment, not on Square’s commercial interests. All resulting work will be open and free,” Dorsey explained. “Square has taken a lot from the open source community to get us here. We haven’t given enough back. This is a small way to give back, and one that’s aligned with our broader interests: a more accessible global financial system for the internet.”
Square has taken a lot from the open source community to get us here. We haven’t given enough back. This is a small way to give back, and one that’s aligned with our broader interests: a more accessible global financial system for the internet.
— jack (@jack) March 20, 2019
