Jack Dorsey’s payments company Square changes corporate name to Block – using Block.xyz domain name
Daniel Levi
Posted On December 2, 2021
On Monday, Jack Dorsey stepped down from his role as Twitter CEO. Just two days after the announcement, Dorsey’s payments company Square announced yesterday it’s changing its corporate name to Block as the company expands beyond its original credit card-reader business and focuses on technologies such as blockchain. The new name is effective Dec. 10, Square said.
What’s really fascinating about the new name is that Block is not using the traditional .com domain extension used by Fortune 500 companies. Instead, Square decided to go with the “Block.xyz” domain name for its website.
In a Twitter post, Square said, “We’re changing our company name so we can give the full @Square brand to our Seller business. So now we need a name to tie @Square, @CashApp, @TIDAL, and @TBD54566975 together into one. That name is “Block.” Why?”
We’re changing our company name so we can give the full @Square brand to our Seller business. So now we need a name to tie @Square, @CashApp, @TIDAL, and @TBD54566975 together into one. That name is “Block.” Why? https://t.co/vVSKNnMUU3
— Square (@Square) December 1, 2021
In a separate announcement, Square that the new name, effective Dec. 10, “acknowledges the company’s growth” and “creates room for further growth.” Block will still trade under the ticker SQ on the New York Stock Exchange.
“We built the Square brand for our Seller business, which is where it belongs,” Dorsey, co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “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.”
Considering Square’s ongoing bitcoin and blockchain projects, Block is a fitting name for the company. As you may recall, in October, Square announced it was building an open-source Bitcoin mining system for individuals and businesses worldwide.
Dorsey co-founded Square in 2009 with Jim McKelvey. The company later launched its first platform in 2010 with a focus on in-person payments and its namesake card reader, which let people accept credit card payments on a smartphone. The San Francisco-based Square has since added a peer-to-peer digital banking app and small business lending received a bank charter and begun offering crypto and stock trading.
In August, Square acquired Australia’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company Afterpay for $29 billion.
