How Block Uses Open Money to Rewire Access to the Global Economy
Today's financial system decides who counts. Bank accounts require documentation and credit. Underserved populations pay the highest fees. 2 billion people operate mostly in cash.
70% live in emerging markets where access to traditional banking remains limited or impossible.
Migrants lose up to 9% of earnings just to send money home through traditional channels.
In many developing regions, cash remains dominant due to lack of accessible alternatives.
*Reducing with Bitcoin Lightning integration
Block believes money should behave like the internet: borderless, inclusive by default, resistant to gatekeeping, and user-owned.
Empowering 4M+ merchants with POS systems, software, and instant loans—many digitally enabled for the first time.
57M users can earn, save, spend, and invest instantly—without a traditional bank account.
40M users access buy-now-pay-later services, boosting merchant sales by 20%+ without traditional credit.
Secure Bitcoin self-custody for anyone distrustful of institutions—truly own your savings.
Global transfers and decentralized identity without gatekeepers—enabling entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
Energy-based Bitcoin creation fueling decentralization at the community level.
Block builds two ecosystems that meet in the middle—Square for merchants, Cash App for consumers. Once density builds in a city, Block becomes the default economic layer of that community.
| Product | What It Enables | Who Gains |
|---|---|---|
| Cash App | Earn + spend instantly | People excluded from traditional banks |
| Bitkey | Secure savings you truly own | Anyone distrustful of institutions |
| TBD / tbDEX | Global transfers + identity without gatekeepers | Entrepreneurs in emerging markets |
| Bitcoin Mining | Energy-based Bitcoin creation | Local communities fueling decentralization |
Instead of replicating banks digitally, Block removes the need for permission entirely. Economic participation becomes a feature of the network, not a privilege granted by institutions.
Not speculation — utility.
The Theta Framework maps innovation across time horizons. Block invests across the entire curve— from today's mass participation to tomorrow's permissionless economies.
Square, Cash App, Afterpay
Lightning, Bitcoin in Cash App, Seller automation
Bitkey, Spiral, TBD, Proto
| Company | Core | Edge | Beyond | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | New rails > old rails |
| PayPal | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ | — | Closed rails |
| Revolut | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐ | ⭐ | Regulated bank mindset |
| Coinbase | ⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ | Speculation-first |
| Visa/Mastercard | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | — | — | Fee dependency |
Everyone else fintechs banking. Block innovates around banking.
Block isn't betting on crypto hype nor is it a fintech company. It's betting on open money becoming the financial infrastructure of the future.
"Where banks saw risk, 57 million saw a future."
Block isn't banking the unbanked—it's removing the need for banks to grant permission. Every neighborhood becomes an economic node. Every person becomes economically included.
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