Square Rebrands to ‘Block’ Amid Broader Push into Crypto

Jack Dorsey’s digital payments firm Square has rebranded as a symbol of its growth and continued movement into the blockchain industry.

On December 1, Square said it would be changing its name to ‘Block’. According to the announcement, the rebadge is a symbol of its continued growth and will act as an umbrella term for the various services created since its inception in 2009.

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.

Jack Dorsey, Block CEO and co-founder

The legal name “Square, Inc” is expected to be legally changed to “Block, Inc” around December 10, once all applicable legal requirements have been satisfied.

The Square’s new name has various associated meanings for the business. According to the announcement, the name Block represents “building blocks, neighbourhood blocks and their local businesses, communities coming together at block parties full of music, a blockchain, a section of code, and obstacles to overcome”.

The company has already expanded its crypto services to Australia with its A$39 billion purchase of Afterpay to make bitcoin purchases on a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) basis. 

Dorsey Moving Further into Crypto

Square’s name change follows Dorsey stepping down as Twitter CEO late last month, with many believing he now wants to spend more time working on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

The Square rebadge announcement also mentions blockchain technology and further reveals that Square’s subsidiary, Square Crypto, will also change its name.

As a result of the name change, Square Crypto, a separate initiative of the company dedicated to advancing Bitcoin, will change its name to Spiral.

Block press release

Spiral and TBD are two initiatives under the Block umbrella that focus entirely on Bitcoin. Spiral is dedicated to building and funding “open-source projects aimed at making bitcoin the planet’s preferred currency”, while TBD is currently focused on developing a decentralised bitcoin exchange to “build bridges between the fiat and cryptocurrency worlds”.