Square Changes Name to Block, Reflecting CEO Jack Dorsey's Bitcoin Endeavors

When Jack Dorsey resigned as Twitter CEO this week to focus on his other company—financial payments firm Square—many wondered what it would mean for both businesses' crypto ambitions.

Dorsey today subtweeted at least some of that answer.

Square has announced it is renamed itself Block in an apparent reference to blockchain—the technology that undergirds Bitcoin.

Not that the company is expressly stating that. Block, it says, "creates room for further growth."

“We built the Square brand for our Seller business, which is where it belongs,” said Dorsey in a press release today. “Block is a new name, but our purpose of economic empowerment remains the same. No matter how we grow or change, we will continue to build tools to help increase access to the economy.”

Much of that corporate growth is happening in Bitcoin.

Square has been experimenting with a number of crypto-centric ideas. In November, it released a white paper for a decentralized exchange for trading Bitcoin and other assets. In October, Dorsey said the company was looking into building Bitcoin mining machines to go along with a hardware wallet that's already under development. And selling Bitcoin has been a big earner for the Square Cash App for years; in its most recent quarter it registered $1.81 billion in revenue, netting $42 million in profit.

As part of the name change, Square Crypto–a wing of the company that propels Bitcoin use cases—will be renamed Spiral.

Dorsey is on the record as saying he would leave Twitter and Square if Bitcoin needed him more. It looks like a name change may be sufficient.

This article is being updated.