Block disclosed a proposed $764 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in a November 3, 2026 filing, as its bitcoin business reported sharply lower profit. The agreement, reached in October, concerns anti-money-laundering controls and exceeds the company’s reported third-quarter profit of $566 million.
Summary
Key takeaways
- Block’s proposed DOJ agreement would defer a criminal charge for three years.
- Lower transaction fees helped halve quarterly bitcoin gross profit.
- Cash App lending and payments helped lift overall gross profit 22%.
Block’s DOJ settlement terms
Block has agreed in principle to a resolution that would postpone prosecution for three years on a charge alleging an ineffective anti-money-laundering program under the Bank Secrecy Act.
The filing puts the proposed settlement’s gross monetary component at approximately $964 million. Credits for previous regulatory settlements bring the amount to $764 million, which Block said it has already set aside.
The DOJ investigation began in 2023 following a report from short seller Hindenburg Research. The report alleged that Cash App overstated user numbers by including duplicate and fraudulent accounts, and that inadequate identity checks enabled scams, money laundering and other illicit payments.
Block disputed the report’s findings, calling them inaccurate and misleading. The federal inquiries examined allegations involving compliance practices and associated disclosures.
New York’s fine and bitcoin screening gaps
In April 2025, Block was hit with a $40 million fine from New York’s financial regulator after serious compliance shortcomings came to light. The regulator’s probe revealed that unresolved suspicious-transaction alerts climbed from about 18,000 in 2018 to over 169,000 by 2020.
Investigators also flagged a flaw in one bitcoin screening system, noting that it failed to automatically block transfers to wallets linked to terrorism financing unless exposure surpassed 10%.
Bitcoin profit halves as overall gross profit grows
Block reported $52 million in bitcoin ecosystem gross profit for the third quarter of 2026, down 50% from $104 million a year earlier. Bitcoin revenue declined 11% to $1.8 billion.
Block attributed the gross-profit decline mainly to reduced fees on certain bitcoin transactions. The bitcoin decline accompanied growth elsewhere: overall gross profit increased 22% to $3.24 billion, supported by stronger lending and payments activity through Cash App.
SEC closed its separate investigation
The Securities and Exchange Commission ended its separate inquiry in March 2026 without recommending enforcement action. That investigation had begun in 2023 alongside the Justice Department’s examination of allegations involving Block’s compliance practices and disclosures.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
