Why Is Square Rebranding and Changing Its Name to Block?
Announcing he is resigning as CEO of Twitter on November 29, 2021 Jack Dorsey's financial services company, Square will undergo a rebranding and change its name to Block— why the change?
Dec. 3 2021, Published 4:22 p.m. ET
Former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has been making headlines given all the impending changes surrounding him. Not only in announcing he will be stepping down as CEO but the financial services application he set up in 2009, Square will undergo a rebranding, starting with a name change to Block.
What was once known as Square has undergone massive changes in the last decade and will continue to do so, except now it's a revamped application aligning itself with blockchain. Although the name of the application has changed, the ethos of what Square was and Block will be, is the same: to provide economic empowerment.
Why is Square changing its name to Block?
Square started with humble beginnings with its card reader product whereby merchants process payments through their cellphones. While the financial services began with a limited utility to consumers and merchants, it was innovative enough to continue developing into other features.
These features include crypto and stock trading, along with money lending. More than these features, Square also double-down and purchased a substantially large stake in the music streaming platform, Tidal. The purchase was worth an estimate of $297 million in cash and stock.
Given how much Square has grown and developed is the reason for why the company felt it was time for a rebranding. The name "Block" got chosen to encapsulate the many branches Square operates including, CashApp, Tidal, Square, and the prospective decentralized exchange (DEX) for Bitcoin, TBD54566975.
In a blog post from Square, the company states: "The name 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 code, and obstacles to overcome.”
When will Square's name change go into effect?
The full rebranding will commence starting on December 10th, 2021, but the company's New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ticker for Square (SQ) will not change at this time whereby stockholders need not take action.
Despite announcing its rebranding, the company will not undergo any organizational changes, and its entities, CashApp, Tidal, Square, and TBD54566975 will keep up with their respective brands.
However, since announcing the name change, Square Crypto, a separate initiative focused on developing advancements for Bitcoin, will also change its name and be known as Spiral. Although the company and its initiatives encounter a face lift, Dorsey is adamant in expressing that "No matter how we grow or change, we will continue to build tools to help increase access to the economy.”
Is SQ still worth investing in?
With any kind of change, there is also resistance and while some are taking to Twitter to criticize the company's move, others are excited for the prospect of where Block can shift towards becoming more integrated in Web 3.0.
Currently, SQ is down nearly 18 percent and is trading at $179.68 according to the NYSE. It seems that after announcing its rebranding, the stock began its downward trend to selling pressure.
Despite, what would some might call a "blood-bath" it could very well be an opportune time to invest and diversify one's portfolio to include what many are referring to as the "future of finance."