Square的比特幣交易業(yè)務(wù)：接盤(pán)容易，盈利很難
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上周三下午，美國(guó)移動(dòng)支付公司Square在季報(bào)中披露了其比特幣業(yè)務(wù)的經(jīng)營(yíng)狀況，情況可以說(shuō)喜憂參半?？上驳氖?，公司上季度從比特幣相關(guān)業(yè)務(wù)中收入3400萬(wàn)美元。可憂的是，Square公司一開(kāi)始收購(gòu)比特幣時(shí)也花了差不多同樣的錢(qián)，收支相抵，所差無(wú)幾。 Square公司最成熟的業(yè)務(wù)是提供給小商戶(hù)的信用卡收款機(jī)。今年1月，在經(jīng)過(guò)短暫測(cè)試后，該公司在其點(diǎn)對(duì)點(diǎn)支付業(yè)務(wù)Square Cash中推出了比特幣的購(gòu)幣功能。 該業(yè)務(wù)一經(jīng)推出就吸引了不少人的關(guān)注，比特幣業(yè)務(wù)收入迅速攀升到了該公司總收入的近5%。不過(guò)最近的成績(jī)表明，這項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)在早期階段或許很難實(shí)現(xiàn)營(yíng)利。先讓我們看看該公司的收入構(gòu)成： |
Square shed light on the state of its fledgling Bitcoin business in its earnings report last?Wednesday afternoon. The good news for the payment company is that it pulled in $34 million of Bitcoin-related revenue last quarter—the bad news is that Square spent nearly as much to acquire Bitcoin in the first place. Square, which is best known for its dongle that helps small merchants accept credit cards, began officially offering Bitcoin purchases within its peer-to-peer payment service, Square Cash, in January, following a brief test program. The Bitcoin trading service appears to be gaining some traction, accounting for nearly 5% of Square’s overall revenue. But the results suggest the company may be struggling to make a profit in the venture’s early days. Here’s a breakdown from the company’s income statement: |
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光看收入一項(xiàng)，Square公司到目前為止從比特幣業(yè)務(wù)中獲取的收入極其微薄，通過(guò)銷(xiāo)售其購(gòu)入的比特幣獲得的收入僅有22.3萬(wàn)元，收益比僅有0.66%。 與此同時(shí)，Square很有可能實(shí)際上已經(jīng)在比特幣業(yè)務(wù)上虧了一些錢(qián)。從季報(bào)上看，今年第一季度結(jié)束時(shí)，Square持有的比特幣的價(jià)值已經(jīng)從2017年末的30萬(wàn)美元下跌到了20萬(wàn)美元。Square公司承認(rèn)了其比特幣業(yè)務(wù)稍有虧損，不過(guò)損失額度不值得一提。該公司在季報(bào)中寫(xiě)道：“今年前三個(gè)月（截止至3月31日），比特幣業(yè)務(wù)的虧損是微不足道的?！?/p> Square的比特幣業(yè)務(wù)所面臨的艱難處境，也非是因?yàn)樗?017年年末開(kāi)始的“比特幣狂潮”中高位接盤(pán)所致，跟普通散戶(hù)所犯的錯(cuò)誤并無(wú)二致。Square公司在其季報(bào)中指出：“公司從公開(kāi)的數(shù)字加密貨幣交易所和其他客戶(hù)處購(gòu)入了比特幣?！?/p> 季報(bào)中所指的數(shù)字加密貨幣交易所包括美國(guó)最大的交易所Coinbase，也包括Kraken、Circle等海外數(shù)字加密貨幣交易機(jī)構(gòu)。 從去年年底開(kāi)始，比特幣的幣值橫遭腰斬，損失五成以上。而Square也正是在價(jià)格高位上入手的比特幣。 在推出比特幣業(yè)務(wù)之后，Square的股價(jià)曾一度提振，然而隨著比特幣幣值一路下跌，它在投資者眼中的光環(huán)也迅速褪去了。上周一，一位知名的做空投資人公開(kāi)嘲笑了Square的戰(zhàn)略，大意是說(shuō)“華爾街的讓搞比特幣的忽悠瘸了”。Square的股價(jià)也因此言論應(yīng)聲下跌了3.8%。 由于遠(yuǎn)期收益指標(biāo)低于預(yù)期，在上周三的盤(pán)后交易中，Square的股價(jià)再次下跌超過(guò)6%。今年一季度，Square的每股收益為6美分。 現(xiàn)在就給Square比特幣業(yè)務(wù)的前景蓋棺定論似乎還為時(shí)過(guò)早，畢竟數(shù)字加密貨幣交易市場(chǎng)仍處于襁褓階段。此外，包括知名股票交易應(yīng)用Robinhood在內(nèi)的一些大牌金融機(jī)構(gòu)也正在采取類(lèi)似動(dòng)作進(jìn)軍數(shù)字加密貨幣市場(chǎng)。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)） 譯者：Min |
Looking at revenue alone, Square appears to have made only a tiny return on Bitcoin so far, making just $223,000 more from selling Bitcoin than it paid to buy the cryptocurrency—a return of only 0.66%. But Square may actually have lost money on its cryptocurrency business so far. The value Square recorded for its Bitcoin holdings was only $200,000 at the end of the first quarter, down from the $300,000 they were worth at the end of 2017, according to the company’s quarterly report. Square acknowledged that it had taken a small hit on Bitcoin, though not enough to merit recording an impairment charge: “Losses on Bitcoin for the three months ended March 31, 2018 were insignificant,” the company wrote in the report. Square’s difficulties may stem in part from an ongoing slump in Bitcoin prices since the boom of late 2017, and in its strategy for acquiring it—which is similar to how the average person would buy Bitcoin. As Square explains in the earnings report, the “company purchases Bitcoin from public cryptocurrency exchanges or from customers.” Public exchanges for buying cryptocurrency include Coinbase, the largest U.S. exchange, as well as Kraken, Circle and other foreign exchanges. Bitcoin prices have fallen more than 50% since the end of last year, around the same time Square started buying the cryptocurrency in earnest. While Square’s stock price initially rose on news of its Bitcoin business, the sheen among investors may have worn off. On last?Monday, the stock briefly fell 3.8% after a prominent short-seller belittled the strategy as “Wall Street drunk on Bitcoin nonsense.” In after hours trading on last?Wednesday, Square shares were down over 6% in response to future earnings guidance that fell lower than expected. In the first quarter, the company posted earnings of 6 cents a share. It’s likely too soon, however, to gauge the overall prospects of Square’s foray into Bitcoin. The market is still nascent in many respects and other prominent financial brands, including the popular millennial stock-buying app Robinhood, are making similar moves into cryptocurrency. |
