Jack Dorsey's Block Reports $44 Million Bitcoin Profit Alongside Job Cut Plans

Block, the Bitcoin-centered financial technology company co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, reported a staggering $44 million profit from its Bitcoin holdings amidst announcements of possible job cuts in the coming months.

Block demonstrated its financial strength in Q3 2023 despite economic challenges by reporting $44 million in profit from its Bitcoin holdings within its $5.62 billion revenue, which was bolstered by the growth of its mobile payment service, Cash App, and payments company, Square.

The substantial Bitcoin revenue was primarily attributed to the recent price rally of the world's largest cryptocurrency, driven by the anticipation surrounding the possible approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications of several Wall Street giants.

Block's Bitcoin revenue accounted for 43% of the company's total revenue of $5.6 billion, with its overall third-quarter growth boosted by increased consumer demand and positive spending.

The fintech company achieved a gross profit of $1.90 billion, marking a 21% year-over-year gain, while Cash App's gross profit of $984 million saw a 27% year-over-year increase, and Square recorded a 15% gain with a gross profit of $899 million year-over-year.

"Total net revenue was $5.62 billion in the third quarter of 2023, up 24% year over year. Excluding bitcoin revenue, revenue in the third quarter was $3.19 billion, up 16% year over year. Gross profit was $1.90 billion, up 21% year over year," Block's Q3 shareholder letter showed.

Despite the strong performance in the third quarter, Dorsey reportedly informed employees in a note on Thursday to expect job cuts in the coming months, explaining that the company's growth does not align with its current number of employees and noting that "It's not sustainable."

In a separate internal announcement sent to staff on Wednesday, employees were reportedly informed that the workforce would be reduced to 12,000 sometime next year, resulting in a 10% reduction in total headcount in the coming months.

This move was seemingly confirmed by the company in its third-quarter letter to investors when it mentioned implementing "an absolute cap" on hiring going forward, stating that it would not increase its workforce to 12,000 "until we feel the growth of the business has meaningfully outpaced the growth of the company."

As of 11:01 a.m. ET on Friday, BTC was trading in the red zone at $34,736.25, with a 24-hour trading volume down by 21.64% at $18.93 billion, representing a 0.30% decrease in the last 24 hours and a 2.5% gain over the past seven days.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin's total circulating supply stands at 19.53 million BTC, with its value up by 0.19% at a $678.75 billion market cap.