Block Cuts TIDAL and Shutters TBD to Mine Bitcoin

Jack Dorsey’s fintech giant Block announced on Thursday, November 7, that it is scaling back its investment in music streaming platform TIDAL and shutting down its decentralized web division, TBD, to reallocate resources toward Bitcoin mining and its self-custody wallet, Bitkey.

A Strategic Pivot to Bitcoin Infrastructure

In its Q3 2024 shareholder letter, Block detailed its decision to wind down TBD—the ambitious business unit previously tasked with building a decentralized internet known as “Web5.” By halting these projects and reducing its footprint in TIDAL, the music streaming service once owned by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, Block aims to capitalize on high-growth crypto opportunities.

Doubling Down on Mining and Bitkey

The company explicitly stated that these strategic cuts will provide the financial runway required to bolster its most promising hardware initiatives. “We are scaling back our investment in TIDAL and winding down TBD,” Block explained in the letter. “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.”

Layoffs and Internal Gag Orders at Block

This restructuring represents the latest phase of aggressive cost-cutting measures at the parent company of Square and Cash App. According to a report by Fortune, Block recently executed a wave of layoffs targeting multiple departments. Alongside the job cuts, internal communications have reportedly grown tense, with the company instructing employees to avoid mentioning board member Jay-Z in emails or Slack channels.