Square Reveals $29B Acquisition Deal

Crypto-friendly payments startup Square not only made $2.72 billion of bitcoin revenue in Q2, but is also acquiring major Australian lending company Afterpay in a $29 billion deal, the company revealed in two separate announcements on 1 August.

According to a shareholder letter from Sunday, the company’s Cash App was able to generate $2.72 billion of bitcoin revenue on the second quarter of 2021, which is approximately 3x year-over-year. Square’s Bitcoin gross profit, however, is only $55 million, or around 2% of the Bitcoin revenue. The firm said:

“Bitcoin revenue and gross profit benefited from year-over-year increases in the price of Bitcoin and Bitcoin actives, and growth in customer demand.”

Despite having a 3x year-over-year growth, the company did acknowledge its Bitcoin revenue has decreased significantly since the last quarter, when the Cash App reported $75 million in gross profit and $3.51 billion in revenue. According to Square, the decrease was “driven primarily by relative stability in the price of bitcoin, which affected trading activity compared to prior quarters”.

Also on Sunday, Square published a press release revealing it will be acquiring all of the issued shares in Australian lending company Afterpay through a “court-approved Scheme Implementation Deed”. The deal has an implied value of approximately $29 billion, based on the closing price of Square’s common stock on Friday, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

According to Square, the acquisition will boost the user base of both Afterpay and the Cash App. While users of Afterpay will be able to use Cash App’s financial tools — such as money transfers, stock and Bitcoin purchases, Cash Boost, and more — the Cash App will be able to offer its users “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) service. The co-founder and CEO of both Twitter and Square, Jack Dorsey, said in a statement:

“Together, we can better connect our Cash App and Seller ecosystems to deliver even more compelling products and services for merchants and consumers, putting the power back in their hands.”