Square Inc. Rebrands to ‘Block’ while Facebook Loosens Restrictions on Crypto Ads – Weekly Roundup

This past week was all about social media.  From Twitter to the Facebook, each played a role in market activity with a few unexpected moves.  While there was a slight turnaround seen in market prices this week, it was not a pronounced move.  The following are a few examples of what this activity can be attributed to.

Jack Dorsey’s Big Plans

Over the past couple of years, it was becoming clear that Jack Dorsey was increasingly prioritizing his blockchain based endeavours.  This has manifested in various projects such as a Bitcoin wallet and Bitcoin decentralized exchange – each of which is currently in development.  This shift in priorities was highlighted this past week as Dorsey resigned from his post as CEO of social media giant, Twitter.

Before the public even had time to digest this development, Dorsey announced that multiple other companies under his watch would be changing names to better reflect the times and development.

• Square Inc. will be known as ‘Block’
• Square Crypto will be known as ‘Spiral’

With this change, the following companies are noted as falling under the Block banner.

• Square
• Cash App
• TIDAL
• TBD54566975

With the aforementioned stable of companies in mind, it is indicated that the name Block was chosen for various reasons. 

“…building blocks, neighborhood blocks and their local businesses, communities coming together at block parties full of music, a blockchain, a section of code, and obstacles to overcome.”

Needless to say, the entire digital asset sector is filled with enthusiasm and optimism for what Dorsey plans to achieve.  As one of the most visible and influential Bitcoin advocates, Dorsey and his stable of companies have the potential to expedite Bitcoins continued mainstream acceptance.

Meta Gives Facebook Leeway

This move by Square/Block is reminiscient of one recently made by Meta.  Formerly known as Facebook, Meta was introduced as the new corporate entity overseeing the company’s stable of services (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.).  Beyond distinguishing its corporate identity from its various subsidiaries, Meta indicated at the time that the choice of name pointed towards a new goal of bringing the ‘metaverse’ to life.

Interestingly, within weeks of this occurring, Meta has allowed for Facebook to rescind its longstanding ban on crypto-based advertisements.  While there are still restrictions on what can be posted, companies will find it significantly easier to attain approval.  Facebook listed the following reasoning behind the decision.

• We’re making it easier to run ads about cryptocurrency on our platform by expanding the number of regulatory licenses we accept.
• We’re doing this because the cryptocurrency landscape has continued to mature and stabilize in recent years and has seen more government regulations that are setting clearer rules for their industry.
• These changes will help to make our policy in this space more equitable and transparent and help more advertisers, including small businesses, grow their audiences and reach more potential customers.

Market Reaction & Metrics

For the time being, the overall digital asset market appears to have momentarily stabilized after a weeks-long downward trajectory.  While there were multiple attempts at breaking through the $60,000 this week, none were successful.  Now, as we head in to the weekend, BTC is relying heavily on support at the $56,000 marker.

Notably, Bitcoin mining difficulty has just experienced its first decrease since July.  Despite this, difficulty remains near all-time-highs.

This drop in difficulty can most likely be attributed to the recent downswing in prices.  With BTC dropping to the just under $60,000, small miners may have seen their operations become unprofitable and simply turned them off – resulting in the modest dip in difficulty.