Key Takeaways
- Block will place more resources into building equipment for Bitcoin miners.
- Jack Dorsey’s payment company is scaling back its investments into Tidal and creating Web5.
- The move follows Block laying off dozens of workers.
Block, Jack Dorsey’s payment company, has announced plans to refocus its resources on building equipment for Bitcoin miners.
The move comes as the company pulls back on its investment in music streaming platform Tidal and its planned creation of Web5, an improved decentralized version of the better-known Web3.
Block Back to Bitcoin Mining
In a letter to shareholders on Thursday, Block said it would invest more resources in Bitcoin mining and its Bitkey crypto wallet.
Block supplies mining equipment to Bitcoin miners and secured its first order for its new 3-nanometer mining chip in the summer.
The financials of the deal between Block and Bitcoin miner Core Scientific were not disclosed—but the new chips are expected to add significant power to the miner’s capabilities.
Block’s crypto wallet, Bitkey, works alongside the company’s other platforms, such as Coinbase, to provide users with accessibility.
The wallet system prioritizes security through a multi-signature setup to ensure only the wallet owner can authorize transactions.
Pull Back from Web5 and TIDAL
Block’s renewed focus on Bitcoin mining comes alongside the financial firm scaling back its investments in Web5 and TIDAL.
The company announced it was shutting down TBD, its Bitcoin-focused arm, which previously aimed to create “Web5.”
TBD introduced Web5 as an alternative vision for the future of the Internet, focusing on a decentralized model to restore individuals’ data ownership and identity control.
Unlike Web3, which uses blockchain technology for applications like decentralized finance, Block wanted Web5 to emphasize simplicity and user autonomy over data.
“We are scaling back our investment in TIDAL and winding down TBD,” said Block in the shareholder letter.
The move follows Block laying off dozens of workers from Tidal in recent weeks, according to Fortune, with an order not to talk to board member and founder Jay-Z.
Earlier this year, Block announced it would be trimming its staff by 10% by the end of 2024.
“The growth of our company has far outpaced the growth of our business and revenue,” Dorsey said last year in a memo to staff.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
