Square to Block: Did Jack Dorsey Accidentally Build the First Crypto-Native Bank?

When Square rebranded to Block in late 2021, the move was framed as a signal of broader ambitions. At first glance, it seemed like Jack Dorsey’s company was simply aligning with the rising energy of Web3. But today, looking at how Block has evolved, it appears the company may have inadvertently built something far more radical: the first crypto-native bank. Not in name or in regulation, but in the way its ecosystem increasingly mirrors a financial institution designed for a digital-first world.

From Payments to Platforms

Square began as a payment processor for small businesses, democratizing access to card acceptance with its iconic dongle. Over the years, that core service evolved into Square POS, lending, and payroll solutions — a toolkit for merchants to run their businesses more seamlessly. On the other side, Cash App quietly grew from a peer-to-peer transfer app into a consumer financial super-app, where users could not only send money but also buy stocks and Bitcoin.

This dual structure — merchants on one side, consumers on the other — looks a lot like the foundation of a traditional bank. Except Block doesn’t hold a banking license in the conventional sense. Instead, it stitches together services through software, regulation-light frameworks, and integrations that increasingly blur the line between fintech and finance.

Block’s Building Blocks

To understand why Block is starting to resemble a new-age bank, it helps to break down its ecosystem. Each piece looks standalone, but together they create a financial services machine:

• Square: A full-service merchant platform offering payments, loans, and payroll.

• Cash App: A consumer wallet for transfers, savings, investing, and Bitcoin.

• Spiral: A project dedicated to advancing Bitcoin development and open-source innovation.

• TIDAL: A music-streaming platform, but with hints at future creator payments and tokenized ownership.

• Bitcoin Mining & Hardware: Efforts to decentralize mining and make Bitcoin infrastructure more accessible.

When you stitch these together, what emerges is not just a payments company but a multi-layered ecosystem where both sides of the financial equation — consumer and merchant — live within one branded universe. Traditional banks often try to serve both, but Block is attempting to do so in a crypto-native, software-first way.

The Banking Parallels

Look closer, and the similarities to a bank are hard to ignore. Block facilitates deposits (via Cash App balances), provides lending (through Square Capital), and enables investments (stock and Bitcoin trading). It even has its own internal rails for settlement between merchants and consumers.

But unlike banks that remain bound to fiat, Block is deliberately leaning into Bitcoin as a backbone. Dorsey has been outspoken in his belief that Bitcoin could be the internet’s native currency, and Block’s strategic moves — from mining hardware to open-source wallets — are designed to normalize Bitcoin as an everyday medium of exchange.

Competing on Two Fronts

This positions Block uniquely in the financial services landscape. It is not just challenging traditional banks; it is also competing with crypto-native firms like Coinbase, Binance, and even stablecoin issuers. To win, Block is betting on integration. Instead of fragmenting the user experience across multiple apps, it wants merchants and consumers inside the same ecosystem.

That strategy creates clear advantages:

• Network Effects: Merchants accepting payments via Square naturally funnel customers into Cash App, and vice versa.

• Bitcoin Synergy: Its consumer-facing crypto features tie neatly to Dorsey’s mining and infrastructure bets.

• Data Insights: With visibility into both sides of the transaction flow, Block can develop risk and credit models that feel more “bank-like” than fintech peers.

While Coinbase is dominant in trading and Binance in global scale, neither has the merchant footprint Block commands. And while JPMorgan or Citi dominate in traditional banking, neither has the agility to build on crypto rails at the pace Block is moving.

Regulatory Crossroads

Still, calling Block a bank raises hard questions. Regulation remains the biggest roadblock. Block has not sought a traditional banking license (apart from Square’s industrial bank charter in Utah), and leaning further into crypto invites scrutiny from both financial watchdogs and securities regulators.

Yet, this tension may actually define its future. If regulators force clearer lines, Block could either step fully into the role of a licensed bank or position itself as the first large-scale, compliant crypto-native alternative. In either case, it is redefining the rules of engagement.

A Glimpse of Tomorrow’s Finance

What makes Block so fascinating is not just what it has built, but how it has built it almost unintentionally. By scaling Square and Cash App in parallel, then layering Bitcoin-focused initiatives on top, Block has created an ecosystem that increasingly resembles a modern financial institution without ever declaring itself one.

If Bitcoin or other digital currencies do become mainstream, Block is arguably better positioned than most banks to capitalize. Its customer base already uses its apps daily, its merchant network is embedded in global commerce, and its infrastructure bets mean it can scale into a truly decentralized financial future.

The Accidental Bank?

So, did Jack Dorsey set out to build the first crypto-native bank? Probably not in the traditional sense. But by pursuing his vision of Bitcoin as the internet’s currency — and by scaling tools that connect merchants, consumers, and creators — he may have stumbled into it anyway.

Block isn’t just Square with a new name. It’s a living experiment in what happens when payments, wallets, and crypto converge under one umbrella. Whether regulators or markets label it a bank, its trajectory suggests that the future of financial institutions may look more like Block than like Bank of America.