Block, formerly Square, is building a Bitcoin mining system 

Block, the rebranded name of digital payments business Square, has announced it will build an “open Bitcoin mining system”.

In Brief:

It’s confirmed the idea, first floated in October by CEO Jack Dorsey on Twitter, is going ahead. 

The firm wants to make mining, the process of creating new units of Bitcoin and bringing them into circulation, “more distributed and efficient in every way”. 

Block says mining “goes far beyond creating new Bitcoin” and that its development will be necessary long term.

What does this mean?

The decision has come from investigating customer pain points, and is building out a core engineering team to help resolve some common problems. 

You can read more on Twitter (Dorsey’s other business).