Jack Dorsey’s payment firm, Block (formerly Square), plans to expand its bitcoin mining initiatives and support for its self-custody wallet Bitkey.
In its Q3 shareholder letter, Block shared that its strategic shift toward Bitcoin mining aligns with President-elect Donald Trump’s recent calls to strengthen the U.S. as a global leader in this field.
Block sees high demand for its bitcoin mining project and is shifting resources to focus on crypto. As part of this, it’s cutting back on its music streaming platform, Tidal, and ending TBD, its decentralized web division. A spokesperson confirmed restructuring at Tidal, with job cuts in business and design to better serve artists. Block also announced that it will retire the TBD brand but still support the open-source community.
Block’s shift toward Bitcoin mining builds on progress with its three-nanometer mining chip, announced back in April. In July, Block partnered with Core Scientific to provide its latest chips, showing a strong commitment to advancing mining technology and supporting decentralization.
Financially, Block reported $5.98 billion in revenue for Q3, slightly below analysts’ expectations of $6.24 billion. The news initially led to a 10% drop in Block’s stock, which later recovered to $73.95.
Earlier this year, Block laucnhed a dollar cost averaging (DCA) program to expand its bitcoin holdings, leveraging 10% of its monthly bitcoin-related gross profit for additional bitcoin purchases throughout 2024.
Moreover, Block publicized its plans to grow its bitcoin reserves and made its treasury blueprint public, encouraging other companies to adopt similar strategies. This move aligns with Dorsey’s vision of bitcoin becoming the native currency of the internet.
Separately, Block completed a three-nanometer Bitcoin mining chip, advancing its goal to support decentralized mining through standalone mining chips and systems.
That said, Block is currently addressing inquiries from federal prosecutors concerning non-compliant crypto services, as part of an ongoing investigation into the company’s compliance practices.
