Square spent $170 million to buy Bitcoin at an average price of $51,200

Payment company Square bought about 3,318 bitcoins for $170 million , which means the average price is $51,200. Currently, bitcoin is trading at $48,400.

Interest in cryptocurrencies from big companies is making them increasingly mainstream. Tesla Inc and Bank of New York Mellon Corp are among the companies that have previously bought bitcoin.

Earlier this month, Tesla announced it had purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin after CEO Elon Musk promoted Bitcoin and other digital currencies on Twitter . The electric car company already accepts Bitcoin as a form of payment for its products.

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives recently said that Tesla's strategic embrace of Bitcoin will greatly promote more companies to adopt this digital asset.

Ives said Tesla's exposure to Bitcoin is "not just a trend-chasing performance", but one of long-term strategies driven by investment thesis and business thesis. He added: "I think Tesla will double down on Bitcoin. Tesla entered the Bitcoin market not only for investment, but also from a trading perspective."

He said Tesla made about $1 billion in paper gains on BTC trading, exceeding the profits they made from electric vehicle sales in 2020.

In addition, Wedbush Securities believes that through Tesla's behavior, they predict that in the next 12 to 18 months, 3% to 5% of listed companies will invest in the Bitcoin market, although to a large extent, they are more likely to take the form of investment. They also said that if the transparency of Bitcoin regulation does not increase in the future, then the 5% figure will be difficult to rise.

Square reported earnings today that revenue more than doubled to $3.16 billion in the fourth quarter as online payments surged due to the coronavirus pandemic.