Square CFO says 1 million users of its Cash App service bought bitcoin for the first time in January

• Square CFO Amrita Ahuja told CNBC Wednesday one million users bought bitcoin for the first time last month through Cash App.
• The executive's comment come a day after Square announced that it increased its bitcoin investment by $170 million.
• Square's 8,027 bitcoins are valued at around $400 million based on Wednesday's price.
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Square CFO Amrita Ahuja said one million users bought bitcoin for the first time last month through Cash App, its mobile payment service that allows users to invest in the cryptocurrency.

"We had 3 million people transact in bitcoin through Cash App in 2020 and one million who were new to bitcoin in January," Ahuja told CNBC on Wednesday.

The CFO's comment comes a day after the payments firm announced that it incr eased its bitcoin investment, purchasing 3,318 bitcoins at an aggregate purchase price of $170 million. Including its October 2020 purchase of 4,709 bitcoins for $50 million, bitcoin now represents 5% of the company's total cash holdings as of December last year.

Square's 8,027 bitcoins are valued at around $400 million based on Wednesday's price. Bitcoin is up by 1.47% to $49,538 as of 2:25 PM ET Wednesday.

"We feel that bitcoin is aligned with our purpose, which is economic empowerment," Ahuja said. "Economic empowerment is about bringing access to financial tools more broadly, including to people who haven't had it before. We think bitcoin is a way that could enable that for the future."

Square first began to allow users to trade bitcoin through Cash App in January 2018, fulfilling its founder Jack Dorsey's goal of providing "greater financial access for all." Dorsey has been a longtime cryptocurrency advocate who believes it will be the world's "single currency."

Bitcoin has had a dizzying rally recent weeks, notching a series of record highs. The price has hovered around $50,000 on Wednesday. Last week, the cryptocurrency breached the $58,000-level and hit a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time.

Many bitcoin bears fault the cryptocurrency's volatility, yet for Ahuja, the daily movements are less important in the long term.

"We think about the long-term arc," the CFO said. "We're going to evaluate this investment on an ongoing basis. We'll be dynamic. We'll respond to the market environment, but ultimately that long-term vision is what we're investing into."