Block Inc., formerly known as Square Inc., is a financial technology company that operates two main platforms — Square for merchants and Cash App for consumers — along with subsidiaries covering buy-now-pay-later lending, music streaming, and Bitcoin infrastructure. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker XYZ.
When Square Became Block
Square Inc. announced its name change to Block Inc. on December 1, 2021, with the legal transition taking effect on or about December 10, 2021.1Block Inc. Square, Inc. Changes Name to Block The rebrand separated the parent company’s identity from the Square seller business, which had become so closely tied to the Square name that keeping it for the corporate entity no longer made sense.2Block Inc. Square, Inc. Changes Name to Block The name “Block” was chosen to evoke building blocks, neighborhood blocks, and the blockchain technology the company invests in.
The stock ticker followed later. Effective January 21, 2025, the company changed its NYSE symbol from SQ to XYZ.
What Sits Under the Block Umbrella
Block now operates as a holding company over several distinct brands:
- Square, the original merchant services division, which kept the Square name and focuses on tools for businesses.
- Cash App, the consumer-facing financial platform.
- Afterpay, the buy-now-pay-later service acquired in early 2022.
- TIDAL, the music streaming platform acquired in 2021.
- Spiral, the open-source Bitcoin development arm.
Block previously ran a subsidiary called TBD, which worked on decentralized identity and financial protocols. It closed that division in late 2024 as the company shifted resources toward Bitcoin mining hardware.
The Square Seller Business
Square is Block’s original business and still operates under its original brand. What began as a card reader plugged into a smartphone is now a broad platform for small and mid-sized merchants covering payments, inventory, payroll, banking, and lending.
Payment Processing
Square’s core revenue comes from transaction fees on card payments. The company offers three pricing tiers. In-person tap, dip, or swipe transactions are 2.6% plus 15 cents on Square Free, 2.5% plus 15 cents on Square Plus, and 2.4% plus 15 cents on Square Premium.3Square. Understanding Our Fees – Square Payments The flat-rate model, with no interchange markups or hidden gateway fees, is part of why Square gained traction with smaller merchants.
Hardware, Loans, Banking, and Payroll
Square sells point-of-sale hardware ranging from a $149 iPad stand to an $899 dual-screen register.4Square. POS Hardware and Equipment
Square Loans offers financing to eligible sellers based on their processing history. Repayment is automatic, taken as a fixed percentage of each day’s Square sales. A minimum payment must be met every 60 days, and the full balance must be repaid within 18 months.5Block Inc. Square Capital Loan Agreement The total cost of borrowing is a fixed fee set upfront rather than a traditional interest rate.
Square Banking includes a savings account that earns 1.00% APY with no monthly fees, minimum balance, or withdrawal limits. Funds are FDIC-insured up to $2,500,000, and transfers between Square Savings and Square Checking are instant and free.6Square. Business Savings Account
Square Payroll handles pay runs, tax filings, and benefit deductions. The full-service plan is $35 per month plus $6 per person paid. Businesses paying only contractors pay $6 per contractor per month with no base fee.7Square. Payroll Services Pricing
Where Square Operates
Square is not just a U.S. product. Payment processing is available in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.8Square Developer. International Development Feature availability varies by country, and products like Square Loans and Square Banking are not offered in every market.
The Cash App Business
Cash App is Block’s consumer-facing platform and its primary growth engine. It started as a peer-to-peer payment tool and now works, for many users, like a full financial account.
Payments and the Cash Card
Sending money between Cash App users is instant and free. The Cash Card, a customizable Visa debit card linked to a user’s Cash App balance, extends the app into physical and online retail spending. A feature called Boosts provides rotating discounts at specific merchants. Users can also route paychecks and government payments to the account via direct deposit.
Investing
Cash App lets users buy and sell stocks and Bitcoin directly. Stock trading is commission-free, though small government-mandated SEC and FINRA fees apply to sell transactions.9Cash App. Cash Investing House Rules Fractional shares are supported, with a minimum purchase of $1. Stock purchases are capped at $50,000 in a rolling seven-day period.10Cash App. Investing Buy Limits
Bitcoin trades carry separate transaction and volatility-based fees that fluctuate with the market. Cash App Investing LLC is a registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. SIPC coverage protects securities in a user’s account up to $500,000, with a $250,000 sub-limit for cash, if the brokerage fails.11Cash App. Security and Investing12SIPC. What SIPC Protects SIPC does not cover losses from market declines.
Cash App Borrow
Cash App offers short-term borrowing to eligible users. First-time borrowers can access up to $400, and subsequent limit increases of up to $300 may be available based on account activity.13Cash App. Introducing Cash App Releases – See Whats New Eligibility depends on several factors and is not guaranteed.
Deposit Protection
Cash App itself is not a bank and is not directly FDIC-insured. The company partners with FDIC-insured banks to hold user deposits, which makes those funds eligible for pass-through FDIC insurance up to $250,000.14Cash App. Online Banking with Cash App Pass-through insurance flows the coverage to the individual account holder, but only if the partner institution maintains records identifying who owns each dollar on deposit.15FDIC. Banking With Third-Party Apps
Afterpay Across Both Sides
Block completed its acquisition of Afterpay on January 31, 2022, adding a buy-now-pay-later platform that plugs into both the Seller and Cash App ecosystems.16Block Inc. Block, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Afterpay Afterpay lets consumers split purchases into installments with no interest when payments are made on time and no impact to the user’s credit score.
Cash App users can access Afterpay directly inside the app, either at checkout with participating online stores or retroactively on eligible Cash Card purchases made in the previous seven days. Retroactive pay-over-time is available for in-network merchant transactions of at least $25.17Cash App. Pay Over Time with Afterpay on Cash App
On the merchant side, Square sellers can accept Afterpay in person. Customers tap a digital Afterpay Card through Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay at checkout. In-person Afterpay transactions must fall between $1 and $2,000.18Square Support Center. Accept Afterpay Payments with Square
Why the Name Is “Block”: Bitcoin and Spiral
Block’s interest in Bitcoin runs deeper than letting Cash App users buy it. The company treats Bitcoin as a potential open standard for internet-native money and holds roughly 8,883 BTC on its corporate balance sheet. That commitment is the reason for the name.
Spiral, formerly Square Crypto, is Block’s open-source Bitcoin development arm. It funds projects that improve Bitcoin’s usability, scalability, and privacy for the ecosystem as a whole rather than building proprietary products. One of its outputs is the Lightning Development Kit, a set of tools that helps wallet developers integrate the Lightning Network for faster, cheaper Bitcoin transactions.
The now-closed TBD subsidiary had pursued decentralized identity and financial protocols under a “Web5” banner. Its 2024 shutdown, and the redirection of resources toward Bitcoin mining hardware, marked a shift from decentralized web infrastructure toward direct participation in Bitcoin’s underlying network.
Tax Forms You May Receive
Square sellers and Cash App users both receive tax reporting through Block’s platforms, and the IRS receives copies of the same forms.
Square files Form 1099-K for sellers whose gross payment volume exceeds $20,000 and 200 transactions in a calendar year.19Square Support Center. Manage your Form 1099-K This threshold, which reverted to its pre-2021 level under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, applies across all accounts using the same Taxpayer Identification Number.20Internal Revenue Service. Treasury, IRS Issue Proposed Regulations Reflecting Changes From the One, Big, Beautiful Bill to the Threshold for Backup Withholding on Certain Payments Made Through Third Parties Square may still report below these thresholds to meet individual state requirements.
If you sold Bitcoin or made a Lightning payment to a Square merchant using your Bitcoin balance during the year, Cash App will provide an IRS Form 1099-DA by February 15 of the following year. Starting with the 2025 tax year, Cash App issues a separate 1099-DA for each Bitcoin sale, replacing the Form 1099-B used in prior years. Cash App does not report your cost basis to the IRS, so you need to work out your own gains or losses using the transaction history CSV in the app. You may need to file IRS Form 8949 and Schedule D with your return.21Cash App. Bitcoin and Taxes
How Block’s Business Is Measured
Block’s financial reporting mirrors its product structure, breaking into a Seller segment and a Cash App segment. Analysts tend to focus on gross profit rather than top-line revenue, because Bitcoin purchases inflate revenue without reflecting the company’s underlying economics.
The Seller segment is tracked primarily through Gross Payment Volume, the total dollars processed through Square. Growth in GPV signals more merchant activity, which feeds the transaction-fee revenue that supports the segment. The Cash App segment is measured through transacting active customers and gross profit per customer, and its revenue comes from a broader mix: Cash Card interchange, instant deposit fees, Afterpay, Cash App Borrow, and Bitcoin trading. Bitcoin revenue is reported on a separate line and carries very thin margins compared with the other Cash App products.
Block’s trailing-twelve-month gross margin has recently sat around 43%, with a total debt-to-equity ratio of roughly 40%. Both figures shift quarterly. Annual revenue has grown across both segments, driven in particular by continued adoption of Cash App.