Digital payments firm Block (SQ) reported better-than-expected fourth quarter 2021 results driven by more than $2 billion U.S. in Bitcoin (BTC) transactions.
The company led by Jack Dorsey announced total revenue of $4.08 billion U.S., up 29% year-over-year, and topping the $4.04 billion U.S. that Wall Street analysts had expected.
Excluding its Bitcoin transactions, Block’s revenue totaled $2.12 billion U.S., up 51% from the previous year. Earnings per share came in at $0.27 U.S. compared to a forecast of $0.19.
Block’s Cash App payment service that enables users to directly buy and sell Bitcoin generated $1.96 billion U.S. of transactions and $46 million U.S. of gross profit in Q4, up 12% and 14% year-over-year, respectively.
At year end 2021, the fair value of Block’s Bitcoin investment stood at $371 million U.S., or $222 million U.S. greater than the carrying value.
The company previously known as “Square” rebranded as “Block” last December to reflect the company’s expansion beyond its roots of processing payments to sellers.
On the cryptocurrency front, Block currently allows the 70 million users of its Cash App to buy and sell Bitcoin. The company is also building a decentralized Bitcoin exchange and an energy efficient Bitcoin mining system.
