Cash App creator dies following stabbing in San Francisco

April 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bob Lee, the creator of Cash App and the former technology chief at Square, has died after an unknown attacker stabbed him.

Bob Lee, the former chief technology officer of Square and creator of Cash App, has died following a stabbing in San Francisco in the early hours of Tuesday, April 4 local time.

Bill Barhydt, the CEO of crypto wallet company Abra, tweeted on April 5 that Bob Lee “was killed in SF early today,” sharing a report from a local media outlet that reported on Lee’s death but did not name him.

I just got devastating news that our friend Bob Lee (@crazybob ) was killed in SF early today.

Bob was a dad, the former CTO of Square where he created Cash App & CTO of Mobile Coin. He was a generous decent human being who didn’t deserve to be killed.https://t.co/RnzA1Idpun
— Bill Barhydt (@billbarhydt) April 5, 2023

Jack Dorsey also confirmed the death of Lee on the decentralized social media platform Nostr. “It’s real. Getting calls. Heartbreaking,” a screenshot of Dorsey’s post reads.

*Dorsey responded to a post asking if Lee’s death was real. Source: Nostr*

An April 4 notice from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) explained officers attended to a report of a stabbing at approximately 2:35 am local time, finding a “43-year-old adult male victim suffering from apparent stab wounds,” adding:

“Officers rendered aid and summoned medics to the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Despite efforts by first responders and medical personnel, the victim succumbed to his injuries.“

Former UFC fighter, Jake Shields, tweeted on April 5 regarding the killing of a “good friend” in one of the “good” neighborhoods of San Fransisco. He later revealed it was Lee, saying he hoped it “will at least bring attention to these problems” as he was “extremely high profile.“

RIP brother #bobLee pic.twitter.com/Hxd3lZmhyl
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) April 5, 2023

The SFPD said Lee’s death is being actively investigated as a homicide. No arrests have been made, and those with information are urged to contact the department, which can be done anonymously.

Lee was the chief product officer of MobileCoin, the creator of a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency of the same name.

He gained prominence in the tech industry for being the first chief technology officer of the Dorsey-founded payments platform Square — later renamed Block — and for creating the popular mobile payment service Cash App.

Lee was a proponent of cryptocurrencies, and said in a statement when he joined MobileCoin in December 2021 that “the traditional financial system leaves behind hundreds of millions of ‘unbanked’ people worldwide and consequently excludes them from the associated benefits.“

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Jack Dorsey’s TBD launches ‘C=’ to improve Bitcoin Lightning Network

March 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Wallet

C= (pronounced C equals) aims to further the reach of the Bitcoin Lightning Network through added liquidity and routing services.

TBD, a division of Block (formerly Square) led by CEO Jack Dorsey, launched a new venture named c= (pronounced c equals) to improve the Bitcoin Lightning Network through tools and services.

The Lightning Network (LN) is a layer 2 payment network built to ease the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) by enabling faster, cheaper and more reliable peer-to-peer payments. However, c= aims to further the reach of LN through added liquidity and routing services.

⚡️hello world. meet TBD’s @c_equals: https://t.co/j5ZYJmtS3J #lightning
— TBD (@TBD54566975) March 2, 2023

Since its launch, the LN’s liquidity and capacity have witnessed organic growth via real-world adoption. In addition, services like c= offer incremental upgrades to support the ongoing Bitcoin adoption globally.

*Visual representation of widespread Bitcoin Lightning adoption. Source: c=*

Through liquidity, services and infrastructure, c= caters to wallet users, businesses and lightning node operators for faster and cheaper payments. The official announcement read:

“We want to meet you where your lightning needs are. Are you a business looking to accept Lightning payments? A wallet in need of channels or inbound for your customers? A hardened plebnet veteran looking for your next big source?”

Layer 2 services collectively improving Bitcoin operations make it easier for people to adopt the ecosystem into their lives. If you want to accept Bitcoin as payment for your services, read Cointelegraph’s guide on how to get paid in BTC.

Jack Dorsey’s popular payments venture Cash App recently integrated crypto tax and accounting software TaxBit into its services. The move allows Bitcoin users an easy way to report taxes.

As Cointelegraph reported, Cash App launched its Bitcoin trading services in 2018 and rolled out BTC deposits the following year. The company claims to have over 10 million Bitcoin users.

Jack Dorsey-led Block posts $1.5B in Q2 profits, BTC revenue down

August 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Jack Dorsey-led Block posts .5B in Q2 profits, BTC revenue down

Block Inc.

Block Inc. posted $1.47B worth of profit in Q2 but BTC trading services profit only accounted for $41 million of that figure, with the firm citing price volatility and a lack of consumer demand.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s digital payments firm Block Inc. saw its year-on-year (YoY) profits soar 29% to $1.47 billion in Q2, though its Bitcoin business slumped on decreased customer demand and a fall in Bitcoin (BTC) prices.

The financial services firm primarily generates Bitcoin revenue by providing BTC trading services via its digital payments application Cash App.

Block Inc. noted the business generated $1.79 billion of Bitcoin revenue in the quarter, down 34% YoY, while Bitcoin gross profit was only $41 million, which suggests it may be a high-cost venture to provide Bitcoin services to its customers.

Block Inc. said the fall in Bitcoin revenue was attributed to “broader uncertainty” in crypto assets, stating:

“The year-over-year decrease in Bitcoin revenue and gross profit was driven primarily by a decline in consumer demand and the price of bitcoin, related in part to broader uncertainty around crypto assets, which more than offset the benefit of volatility in the price of Bitcoin during the quarter.”

However, Block Inc. emphasized that the BTC profit slump doesn’t reflect the broader performance of the business. It also noted that BTC profits will likely fluctuate over time as a result of “changes in customer demand or the market price of Bitcoin.”

The company also noted that it recognized a $36 million impairment loss on its BTC holdings, however this is likely just a loss on paper.

Under U.S. accounting procedures, crypto is classified as an intangible asset on balance sheets and companies must report a loss when the price of the asset drops below its cost basis, even if a gain or loss has been realized through a sale during the given quarter.

The company noted that as of June 30, 2022, the fair value of its investment in Bitcoin is $160 million based on market prices.

Investors appear un-impressed with Block Inc.’s performance in Q2 however, as the firm’s stock SQ has dipped by 7.42% in after-hours trading to sit at $83 at the time of writing.

Bloomberg suggested this was due to the company reporting lower than expected transaction volume at $52.5 billion, as opposed to the estimated $53.47 billion.

Bitcoin from the Block

Dorsey, the fervent Bitcoin maxi, has been relatively quiet about his plans for digital gold since announcing that Block Inc. was bypassing the Web3 model to build the Bitcoin blockchain-focused Web5 project in June.

Web5 is essentially a decentralized web platform, or DWP, that allows developers to create decentralized web apps via DIDs and decentralized nodes, which will also have a monetary network built around BTC, and not smart contract backed tokenization.

nah pic.twitter.com/RTHLWYjY0L
— jack (@jack) June 16, 2022

Jack Dorsey’s Block hits $1.3B in Q1 profits, $43M in BTC trading revenue

May 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Jack Dorsey’s Block hits .3B in Q1 profits, M in BTC trading revenue

Bitcoin Price

Despite that the Bitcoin price trended down over Q1, the Block ecosystem of payment solutions with Bitcoin in mind performed well.

Block, the pro-Bitcoin (BTC) umbrella company that hosts Cash App, Square and Afterpay, continues its growth in 2022. According to its Shareholder letter, in the first quarter of 2022, gross profits are “up 34% year over year.”

In total, the group netted $1.29 billion in gross profits. However, operating costs were also up “$1.52 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 70% year over year.” The group explains that the acquisition of Afterpay, a buy now pay later service, could explain the increasing costs.

In total net Block’s revenues reached $3.96 billion from January to March 2022, down 22% compared to 2022. The group confirms that the drop was “driven by a decrease in Bitcoin revenue.”

Cash App, Block’s Bitcoin retail outlet as well as a mobile payment service, continued to sell Satoshis, although the figures are less promising than the previous quarter:

"Cash App generated $1.73 billion of Bitcoin revenue and $43 million of Bitcoin gross profit during the first quarter of 2022, down 51% and 42% year over year, respectively".

In light of Bitcoin prices struggling to break $30,000 in quarter two, the group will take encouragement from an increase in non-Bitcoin revenues in quarter one. On the march by 44$ year on year, to $2.23 billion, the Block ecosystem which also includes Tidal and the group TBD is not wholly dependent on crypto market performance.

Plus, the Square ecosystem of payment solutions for merchants, including point of sale devices, has performed well. It delivered a "gross profit of $661 million, an increase of 41% year over year.”

The quarterly report made 81 mentions of Bitcoin and zero of cryptocurrency, holding true to Jack Dorsey’s Bitcoin-maxi credentials. Furthermore, the report states that over 10 million Cash App accounts have bought Bitcoin. Cash App does not offer the purchase of popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH) or Dogecoin (DOGE).

In April, it was announced that its customers in the United States could automatically invest a portion of their direct deposit paychecks into Bitcoin using Cash App, or that their “direct deposits” would automatically convert, says the report.

Tesla Ventures Into 100% Solar-Powered Bitcoin (BTC) Mining With Jack Dorsey’s Block: Report

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Cash App’s Bitcoin Revenue Grew 119% in 2021, Gross Profit From BTC Rose 124%

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Block nets $1.18B Q4 gross profit marking a 47% YoY increase

February 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Block nets .18B Q4 gross profit marking a 47% YoY increase

Afterpay

In total, Block generated $4.42 billion worth of gross profit in 2021 marking a total YoY growth of 62%, however, net profit totaled just $77 million.

Crypto-friendly digital payments tech firm Block, Inc. (formerly known as Square) posted $1.18 billion worth of gross profit in Q4, representing a growth of 47% over the same period in 2020.

The firm led by Bitcoin maxi Jack Dorsey has multiple business arms including Cash App, Square, and the freshly acquired buy now pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay after the $29 billion deal officially closed at the end of last month.

Block’s 2021 Q4 report was posted on Feb. 24, and the firm revealed significant gross profit increases across Cash App and Square, with each firm generating $518 million and $657 million apiece to mark YoY gains of 37% and 54% respectively.

In total, the company generated $4.42 billion worth of gross profit for the entirety of 2021, marking a YoY growth of 62% compared to 2020. The impressive figures do require a pinch of salt, however, as Block’s net profit after expenses for Q4 tallied just $77 million ($166 million for all of 2021) suggesting hefty operating costs for the firm.

The company pointed to Cash App’s Cash Card and Square’s seller ecosystem as key metrics behind the Q4 growth, noting that the Cash Card saw more than 13 million active users in December with 38% of sellers using four or more Square business products.

Moving forward in 2022, Block also highlighted the significance of the Afterpay deal as it will enable the firm to significantly scale up its offerings and products this year. The firm stated:

“On January 31, we completed our acquisition of Afterpay, a global “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) platform. We believe this acquisition will further Block’s strategic priorities for Square and Cash App by strengthening the connections between our ecosystems as we deliver compelling financial products and services for consumers and merchants.”

Block has been ramping up its presence in the crypto space of late, with Cointelegraph reporting in mid-January that Cash App had integrated the Lightning Network to speed up BTC transfers, while Dorsey confirmed that Block was rolling out open-source Bitcoin mining systems.

After stepping down from Twitter in November, Dorsey is reportedly said to be mainly focused on scaling the Block’s crypto initiatives.

Jack Dorsey’s Payments Company Is ‘Officially Building an Open Bitcoin Mining System’

January 16, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Cash App integrates Bitcoin Lightning Network for faster BTC transfers

January 12, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The Layer 2 protocol addresses the historic limitations of the BTC blockchain to improve speeds while reducing the costs associated with the transactions.

Popular mobile payment service Cash App has integrated the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network as a part of an update, allowing faster and cheaper BTC transfers using the Layer 2 (L2) payment protocol.

Cash App is developed and owned by Block (formerly Square), a fintech firm co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The announcement of the BTC L2 integration was shared as a notification on the official Cash App application, which made its way through to Crypto Twitter:

The news are real! @CashApp added #Bitcoin Lightning ⚡️Network pic.twitter.com/zbbdqcx0dC
— Yegor Petrov ⚡️ (@yeg0rpetrov) January 11, 2022

The Bitcoin Lightning Network protocol addresses the noted limitations of the BTC blockchain to improve speeds while reducing the costs associated with transactions.

Just last month, Dorsey featured in a video with Lightning Development Kit (LDK), a service developed by Spiral, a Square subsidiary focused on building for the Bitcoin ecosystem. LDK allows developers to integrate Lightning protocols into Bitcoin wallets and related services.

Prior to leaving Twitter, Dorsey also openly voiced his interest in integrating L2 protocols for the newly launched tipping services on Twitter and BlueSky:

Only a matter of time
— jack⚡️ (@jack) June 11, 2021

The latest data from Business of Apps shows that Cash App catered to over 36 million users across the United States and the United Kingdom.

Favoring ongoing Bitcoin adoption, Cash App launched a service that allowed users to gift BTC and stocks over the holiday season.

Cash App allowed users to send a minimum of $1 worth of BTC without needing to own the assets beforehand.

Square

Bitcoin from the Block

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