Block Inc., founded by Jack Dorsey, is boldly reshaping the financial landscape by embedding Bitcoin at the very core of its operations. Long famed for its mobile credit-card reader, the company—originally known as Square—launched Bitcoin trading through Cash App in 2014 and dramatically rebranded to “Block Inc.” in 2021 to reflect its expanded vision and crypto focus.
Today, Block holds over 8,500 BTC on its balance sheet—valued at nearly $1 billion, with an average acquisition price around $30,405 per coin. This sizable investment underlines Dorsey’s long-term confidence in Bitcoin not merely as digital gold, but as the foundation for a new open, global monetary standard.
Block’s subsidiaries and initiatives drive a full-stack Bitcoin agenda. Square is now rolling out POS systems enabling merchants to accept Bitcoin and potentially manage their treasuries holding BTC, not just converting it to dollars . Cash App, with some 57 million active users in 2024, generated $10 billion in bitcoin-sourced revenue—62% of its total—ushering in lightning-fast BTC payments via the Lightning Network.
The company is also pushing for user-friendly self custody with Bitkey, a multisignature hardware wallet that never exposes private keys directly to users, dramatically improving security and accessibility—even aiming to make setup simple enough “to onboard your grandma”.
Through this multi-pronged strategy—merchant payments, consumer adoption, treasury services, and self-custody tools—Block is working toward “hyperbitcoinization,” where Bitcoin serves as everyday money. The move represents an ambitious pivot from fintech to a truly Bitcoin-first finance ecosystem.
