What is Block, Inc.?

Block, Inc. is one of his other major entrepreneurial ventures from Jack Dorsey, who is best known to many people as the founder of Twitter (now X), from which he stepped back in 2021.

Block is a successful financial services company that has expanded from a merchant point-of-sale payment solution to a company offering a diverse range of financial products and services, with a strong commitment to the development of Bitcoin and decentralized solutions.

History of Block, Inc.

Block, Inc. was originally founded in 2009 as Square Inc. Co-founders Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey aimed to make a cost-effective and accessible payment solutions for small sellers that allow them to accept credit cards and decided to develop one.

The name of the company came from the small, square piece of card-reading hardware that they developed, designed to plug into a smartphone. By 2011, Square Inc. was processing around $2 billion worth of payments each year, and the company was valued at $240 million.

In 2014, Block launched Cash App, a peer-to-peer payment service. By 2015, the company had launched an initial public offering at $9 per share, valuing the company at $2.9 billion. By 2018, Cash App downloads were reportedly outpacing Venmo and PayPal on the Apple Store.

From 2018 onwards, Block, Inc. made a series of acquisitions, including commercial operations management software Stitch, web design company Weebly, and music streaming service Tidal.

The company rebranded from Square Inc. to Block, Inc. in late 2021, a decision that was taken to reflect the company’s growth beyond Square as the initial merchant payment solution.

Due to Dorsey’s longstanding support for cryptocurrencies, Block, Inc. has also been a frontrunner when it comes to digital asset adoption. Dorsey stated that he started experimenting with cryptocurrency payments back in 2014, but Block, Inc. officially launched Bitcoin trading services in 2017. Since 2020, Block, Inc. also invested heavily in Bitcoin, owning over 8,000 BTC as of mid-2024. Block, Inc. has also been one of the frontrunners among non-crypto fintech firms in enabling cryptocurrency payments

Block, Inc. Services and Companies

Block, Inc. operates several types of services related to commercial and retail payments. Some services were developed by the company, while others came about due to acquisitions.

Square

Square, now also known as Squareup, is a financial platform for small and medium-sized businesses, including retailers, restaurants, and service providers. It offers point-of-sale (POS) systems, including all hardware and software necessary for taking credit card payments in person and online.

Effectively, any small business can use Square to get set up for receiving all kinds of payments. The software offers complementary features and integrations, such as an out-of-the-box online storefront, online invoice options, an appointment booking platform, and payroll services.

As of 2024, Square claims to have four million sellers globally on its platform.

Cash App

Cash App is a financial services platform offering many services similar to those of a neo bank. Users of Cash App can send and receive money between one another, make purchases, invest in stocks or commodities like Bitcoin, and carry out banking transactions such as receiving salary payments and paying bills.

Cash App also offers services, including a payment card, a savings feature, and a tax filing portal allowing US users to file their state and federal taxes for free.

As of 2024, Cash App has over 50 million users, predominantly based in the US.

Spiral

Spiral emerged from the rebrand from Square to Block since it used to be a separate division of Square called Square Crypto, which was set up to develop crypto-related projects. Spiral offers grants paid in BTC to Bitcoin developers working on various elements of the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, including Lightning Network, wallets, payments, swaps, and more.

Tidal

In 2021, Square acquired an 80% stake in music streaming platform Tidal, which was previously bought by rapper Jay-Z in collaboration with several other artists. It was confirmed that Tidal would continue to operate independently alongside Square and Cash App.

Although not directly related to Square’s core financial business, the rationale for the acquisition was to find a route into the music business and enable artists to monetize their work in more direct ways.

TBD

TBD is an open-source platform that aims to enable developers and users to access Bitcoin and other decentralized technologies without navigating financial institutions to preserve trust. It focuses on decentralized identity as the key to enabling this goal.

In 2023, TBD launched the tbDEX, an open-source liquidity and exchange protocol for on-ramping and off-ramping between crypto and fiat currencies without having to use a financial intermediary. It uses a system of verifiable credentials that cryptographically link an individual’s real-world identity to their on-chain accounts.

TBD also offers a toolkit for developers to make it easier for them to create decentralized applications.

Block, Inc. essentials

• Block, Inc., formerly Square Inc., is a leading financial technology company founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey in 2009.
• The company’s flagship services are Square, a payment and operations platform for small commerce, and Cash App, a peer-to-peer payments and banking platform for retail users.
• Thanks to Jack Dorsey’s support for crypto and blockchain, Block, Inc. is a proponent and developer of decentralized technologies and trustless payment protocols.