Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, has taken a Mark Zuckerberg step by rebranding Square as Block Inc. The name change reflects the broader scope of the company’s business and distinguishes the corporate entity from its businesses. Square’s business units include peer-to-peer payment service Cash App, music streaming service Tidal and its bitcoin-focused financial services segment TBD54566975.
The name change is nothing new for the Dorsey-led company. It was originally name Squirrel and the original hardware dongle that allowed phones to accept credit card swipes were shaped like an acorn. However, the name didn’t stick as another company in similar business was already called Squirrel, thus the name Square. The new name – Block would be effective from December 10.
Its other brand Square Crypto has also been renamed as Spiral. Square tweeted that the rebrand reflects their focus on bitcoin as it continues to grow like a spiral from a single point, encompassing more and more space until it touches everything. Spiral will be tweeting under SpiralBTC. This shows its focus on bitcoin even as many other developers focus on the newer smart contract platforms.
Square in a statement said the name ‘Block’, has many associated meanings for the company – building blocks, neighborhood blocks and their local businesses, communities coming together at block parties full of music, a blockchain, a section of the code and obstacles to overcome. The company’s new corporate website will have the address of block.xyz, but its NYSE ticker symbol SQ will remain the same.
Dorsey is no stranger to the crypto world. Being an enthusiast, he has embraced the crypto revolution and even went to the extent of labeling products saying ‘Bitcoin Inside’. He has often expressed passion for cryptocurrency; Square, as per reports, bought $50 million worth of bitcoin even before the wave of institutional interest that triggered the digital currency’s price to record highs this year. The payments company has also been weighing the creation of a hardware wallet for bitcoin towards the mainstream.
