Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) is a major American technology and financial services company founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey (co-founder of Twitter) and Jim McKelvey, and it now leads the U.S. market in point-of-sale systems, serving 57 million users and processing $241 billion in payments annually as of 2024. Its flagship product, Square, was born after McKelvey couldn’t accept a credit card for a $2,000 sale, leading to a simple card reader that lets small merchants handle payments, inventory, payroll, and business loans. Beyond Square, the portfolio includes the Cash App digital wallet, Afterpay (buy-now-pay-later), the music streaming service Tidal, and even Bitcoin-focused tools like the Bitkey wallet and Proto mining system. The company grew rapidly—reporting 100,000 new merchants monthly by 2011, partnering with Starbucks in 2012, and going public in 2015 at $9 per share (a $2.9 billion valuation). In 2020–2021, Block made bold Bitcoin investments (purchasing about 8,027 bitcoins for roughly $500 million) and acquired a majority of Tidal for $297 million, bringing Jay-Z onto its board. Reflecting its broader ambitions, the firm rebranded to Block, Inc. in late 2021, focusing on blockchain, cash-flow, and tech-driven financial inclusion for merchants and consumers alike.