Cryptocurrency-friendly digital payments technology company Block, Inc. (formerly Square) reported fourth-quarter gross profit worth $1.18 billion, up 47% from the same period in 2020.
The company, led by bitcoin maximalist Jack Dorsey, has multiple business units, including Cash App, Square, and the just-acquired buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company Afterpay. The $29 billion deal was officially closed late last month.
Block released its report for the fourth quarter of 2021 on February 24. The company disclosed that the gross profit of Cash App and Square increased significantly. 54%.
Overall, the company generated gross profits worth $4.42 billion for the full year 2021, a 62% year-over-year increase compared to 2020. However, these impressive numbers do have their drawbacks, as Block's net profit after expenses in the fourth quarter was just $77 million ($166 million for all of 2021), suggesting the company's operating costs are high .
The company pointed to Cash App's Cash Card and Square's seller ecosystem as key metrics behind the fourth-quarter growth, noting that in December, Cash Card had more than 13 million active users, with 38 percent of sellers using four Or four or more Square business products.
Looking ahead to 2022, the Block also highlighted the importance of the Afterpay deal as it will allow the company to significantly scale up its products and services this year. The company said:
“On January 31, we completed the acquisition of Afterpay, a global buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform. We believe this acquisition will further advance Block’s presence in Square and Cash App by strengthening the connection between our ecosystems. With this strategic focus, we will deliver compelling financial products and services to consumers and merchants."
Block has been beefing 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 bitcoin transfers, while Dorsey confirmed that Block is launching an open-source bitcoin mining system .
After Dorsey stepped down from Twitter in November, Dorsey has reportedly focused on expanding Block's crypto initiatives.
Cointelegraph Chinese is a blockchain news information platform, and the information provided only represents the author's personal opinion, has nothing to do with the position of the Cointelegraph Chinese platform, and does not constitute any investment and financial advice. Readers are requested to establish correct currency concepts and investment concepts, and earnestly raise risk awareness.
Huang Bo
Coinlive 
Cointelegraph