Block Inc, the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey, is reportedly preparing to cut up to 10% of its workforce as part of a strategic restructuring effort. This move aligns with the company’s ongoing mission to enhance operational efficiency and strengthen the integration between its popular Cash App and the Square merchant services.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the layoffs have been communicated to employees during annual performance reviews. This decision could potentially affect hundreds of Block’s nearly 11,000 employees.

Impact on Cash App and Square

The restructuring aims to improve the synergy between Block’s peer-to-peer payments platform, Cash App, and its merchant services arm, Square. By realigning these core services, Block Inc hopes to boost its market competitiveness and streamline its operations.

Despite the layoff news, Block is making strides in innovation, particularly with its Bitcoin mining division, Proto, and a budding artificial intelligence project called Goose. These initiatives are expected to play a significant role in Block’s future growth strategy.

Financial Outlook and Market Performance

Block Inc is poised to release its quarterly earnings on February 26, with analysts projecting an adjusted profit of approximately $403 million on $6.25 billion in revenue for Q4. These figures represent a strong performance, despite a slight decline in Bitcoin revenue compared to the previous year.

In the third quarter, Bitcoin transactions generated $1.97 billion, underscoring its significance as Block’s second-largest revenue stream. The company holds a substantial Bitcoin reserve, amounting to 8,780 BTC valued at over $1 billion at the end of September.

Square’s Innovative Bitcoin Payment Solutions

Square, a Block subsidiary, has been at the forefront of integrating Bitcoin payments into its ecosystem. In a recent development, Square enabled merchants to accept Bitcoin directly at checkout through its point-of-sale terminals. This addition complements Square’s existing tools that allow sellers to convert daily card sales into Bitcoin.

This innovative approach has seen widespread adoption, with over four million sellers across eight countries using Square’s services.

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According to MarketWatch, Square has recently purchased Bitcoin worth $170 million. The company’s revenues and the number of users of their Cash App increased amidst the interest of the public in cryptocurrency and equities trading.

Square bought Bitcoin previously in October 2020. According to the press release, back then, the company purchased about 4,709 Bitcoins, which were worth about $50 million. With the current purchase of about 3,318 Bitcoins, around 5% of Square’s cash, its equivalents, and securities are represented by the cryptocurrency, as per MarketWatch.

MicroStrategy purchased additional 19,452 Bitcoins worth about $1.026 billion, according to a press release. The size of this single cryptocurrency investment so far is only second to Tesla’s $1.5 billion purchase. The new investment brings the company’s cryptocurrency assets to about 90,531 BTC. The CEO, Michael J. Saylor, said that MicroStrategy would continue to use excess cash to purchase more Bitcoin, as per the press release.

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