Good morning. The trend of increasing corporate finance is becoming increasingly obvious Bitcoin As institutional acceptance and regulatory transparency increase, their balance sheets will evolve accordingly.
Since 2020, financial technology clogged (No. 179 Fortune 500 companies) hold Bitcoin as part of their corporate assets. Exceed The company recently announced it will offer business services and lending tools through Square, as well as investing features for Cash App users square bitcoin— A fully integrated Bitcoin payment and wallet solution for businesses of all sizes, launching November 10.
“We can also help Square sellers transition into enterprise Bitcoin holding companies,” Amrita Ahuja, Block’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, told me.
I spoke with Ahuja, Block Financial Director Neil Jorgensen, and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis Nikhil Dixit about how the company treats Bitcoin.
From experiment to strategy
Block’s Bitcoin journey started with customer demand. In 2018, Cash App launched the ability for users to buy, hold and sell Bitcoin. Since then, more than 20 million active Cash App users have traded more than $58 billion worth of Bitcoin, Ahuja said.
In 2020, Block made its first corporate Bitcoin purchase — worth $50 million, less than 1% of total assets — primarily as a learning exercise, she said. The following year, Block expanded its holdings with an additional $170 million in Bitcoin investments and adopted a dollar-cost averaging strategy in 2024, reinvesting 10% of monthly gross profits from Bitcoin products, Ahuja explained.
Block also open sourced its Bitcoin framework white paper and launched live bitcoin Dashboard Displays its holdings and price data. As of the second quarter of this year, Block held 8,692 Bitcoins on its balance sheet.
take a long view
Many financial leaders remain cautious and wary of Bitcoin volatile Compared to traditional assets. Jorgensen acknowledges this sentiment.
He said some viewed it as unstable and worried about shareholder reaction. “But we won’t use Bitcoin as our working capital — we won’t use it to ride the emotional roller coaster,” he added.
Block positions Bitcoin as a long-term investment, guided by clear risk parameters, leaders said.
“Start small,” Ahuja advises. “Whether it’s a $1 dollar average cost plan or a small one-time purchase, build understanding first.”
“Having a long-term perspective is very helpful,” Jorgensen said. “We’ve been taking a very long-term view, so this gives us confidence. We sleep well at night.”
Ahuja noted that Bitcoin’s institutional infrastructure — custodians, liquidity providers, and banks — has matured significantly over the past few years, creating greater stability.
Dixit, who previously ran investor relations at Block.one, said that back in 2020, when Bitcoin was trading around $10,000, investors viewed it as purely speculative. The challenge at the time, he explained, was to explain that Block’s Bitcoin strategy was a principled, calculated risk that represented only a small portion of its portfolio. “Today, that sentiment has changed dramatically,” he said.
Looking to the future
Block’s leaders emphasized the importance of tracking regulations and treating Bitcoin like any other strategic asset.
“AI is changing almost every vector we can see,” Jorgensen said. “We want to be at the forefront – we see Bitcoin as part of the future.”
Ahuja’s advice to peers: Treat Bitcoin as a strategic investment and be prepared to explain your rationale based on your business, liquidity and risk appetite.
Cheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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Ranking list
Fortune 500 power trends
Benjamin E.Menzal Promoted to Sherwin-Williams Chief Financial Officer (No. 191), effective from January 1, 2026. Meisenzahl has served as senior vice president of finance for the past two and a half years. He will take over the role of chief financial officer currently held by Allen J. Mistysyn, who previously served in a short-term interim role. retire After 35 years with the company. Meisenzahl has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility during her 22-year career at Sherwin-Williams, including her current position and global finance and operations roles in the company’s Paint Stores Group, Performance Coatings Group and Global Supply Chain. He began his career as an internal auditor at The Sherwin-Williams Company.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks changes in the C-suite of Fortune 500 companies—View the latest version.
More noteworthy moves
Joe Kaufman Appointed President and Chief Financial Officer parta global payroll and HR platform. Kaufman joins Deel from Credit Karma, where he served as chief financial officer, president and CEO for more than a decade. Prior to that, he held CFO and corporate development roles at two New York Stock Exchange-listed companies. Philippe Bouaziz, who has served as Deel’s chief financial officer since the company’s inception, will assume the newly created role of executive chairman and chief strategy officer.
event
“Tech stocks once again led the market in October, with clients continuing to target some of the large-cap tech stocks that dominated the communications services industry,” Larkin said in a statement. “On the other hand, the shift away from healthcare may have included an element of profit-taking, with clients appearing to sell some stocks that had risen strongly in previous months.”
go deeper
“Walmart CEO says paying its star managers more than $620,000 a year to make them ‘feel like bosses,'” wealth Report by Emma Burley.
“For many employees, it can be difficult to feel connected to a company, especially at a company as large as Walmart,” the report reads. “But in 2024, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner pulled out the big knife and made sure star managers felt loved — paying them more than $620,000 a year.”
“So far, the bet has worked. In 2024, Walmart holds the number one spot in the market. Fortune 500– and then landed on Fortune’s Best Companies to Work For Not just last year, but will be on the list again in 2025. Walmart Said it The company’s hourly employee retention rate has also increased by 10% over the past 10 years. ” Read more here.
overheard
“These are not extraordinary results. These are arguably the best results any software company has ever delivered.”
– Palantir CEO Alex Karp said on the company’s quarterly earnings call on Monday. The defense technology and artificial intelligence software company reported third-quarter revenue of approximately $1.2 billion, a year-over-year increase of 63% and above the average analyst estimate. wealth report. Palantir’s government contracting business remains strong; however, business from U.S. commercial customers drove the company’s growth in the third quarter, rising 121% year over year to $397 million.