Block Bets on Trump, Doubles Down On Bitcoin Mining

Jack Dorsey’s company Block is doubling down on Bitcoin mining, ready to cash in on Donald Trump’s promise to support cryptocurrency.

Block has been working on a number of initiatives, including a decentralized version of the internet called Web5. The company is also a the majority owner of music service Tidal. The company is so focused on Bitcoin mining that it is shutting down TBD, the division leading its Web5 efforts, and scaling back its investment in Tidal, according its third-quarter letter to shareholders.

Within our emerging initiatives, we are refining our investments based on our progress. We are scaling back our investment in TIDAL and winding down TBD. This gives us room to invest in our bitcoin mining initiative, which has strong product market fit and a healthy pipeline of demand, and Bitkey, our self-custody wallet for bitcoin.

Trump has promised to foster a crypto-friendly environment once he takes office, a stark contrast to the Biden administration. Under Chairman Gary Gensler, the SEC has virtually waged war on the crypto industry, and Gensler has made no secret of his disdain for crypto.

“I think there’s been clarity for years,” Gensler said in mid-2023. “The investing public has the benefit of US securities laws. Crypto should be no different and these platforms, these intermediaries, need to come into compliance and protect the investing public.

“These trading platforms, they call themselves exchanges, are co-mingling a number of functions which in traditional finance, we don’t see the New York Stock Exchange also operating a hedge fund, making markets and, as we alleged in Binance, having a sister organization flooding the platform with transactions called ‘wash trading.’ And the lack of controls on the platforms is really a web of deception and conflicts.”

With Trump promising a crypto-friendly environment, Block’s decision could pay major dividends.