Jack Dorsey’s Block Joins SP 500 — Bitcoin Just Entered the Index Era

📈 A Bitcoin-native company is now in America’s biggest stock index. This is not just a win — it’s a wedge.

⚡ Quick Hits

• 🏛️ Block (SQ) to join the SP 500 on July 23, 2025
• 🔁 Replacing Hess Corp in the index
• 📈 Stock popped +8.5% premarket, now trading at 79
• 💰 Market cap: 44.8B
• 🟧 Block holds 8,584 BTC, deeply integrated with Bitcoin strategy
• 🔁 Uses Lightning Network for BTC payments via Square
• 📡 Dorsey just launched “bitchat” — an offline, encrypted messenger

🧠 What Happened

On July 18, SP Dow Jones Indices announced that Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. would officially join the SP 500, replacing Hess Corp in the lineup.

📅 Effective date: July 23 📊 Reason: Block met all key benchmarks — and then some.

Investors immediately reacted:

• Block’s stock jumped 8.5% in premarket, per TradingView
• Analysts expect massive passive inflows from index funds, ETFs, pensions

This isn’t just a personal win for Dorsey — it’s a signal that Bitcoin-aligned companies are crossing TradFi’s final gate.

🔐 Why It Matters for Bitcoin

Block holds 8,584 BTC on its balance sheet. It’s not a sideshow — it’s core to their strategy.

The crypto crowd noticed fast:

“This is not just a headline. It represents trillions of passive flows gradually moving toward Bitcoin.” — @WiseAdvice on X

Dorsey’s BTC commitment has been clear for years. But now? That commitment is officially embedded in the world’s most watched stock index.

📊 SP 500 Inclusion: No Free Passes

To make the cut, companies must meet strict criteria:

• ✅ Four consecutive quarters of GAAP profit
• ✅ 18B+ market cap
• ✅ Strong liquidity and float

Block hit those marks. And according to VanEck’s Matthew Sigel, it’s been “inevitable” for months.

“Block will be the first public company with a Bitcoin strategy to join the SP 500.” — Sigel, Jan 2025

🔁 Block vs. Coinbase: Who’s Leading?

Coinbase became the first crypto-native company to join the SP 500 in May 2025.

But Block’s inclusion hits different:

• Coinbase = exchange rails
• Block = embedded crypto payments + BTC balance sheet + hardware + social

It’s a multi-front BTC-native operator, and that matters for future index plays (👀 Saylor’s MicroStrategy? Still waiting).

⚡ Lightning, Privacy, and Dorsey’s Vision

Block isn’t slowing down.

In 2025, they unveiled:

• ⚡ BTC payments via Square, powered by Lightning Network
• 📱 Live demo at Bitcoin 2025 Las Vegas
• 📅 Full rollout expected 2026

Also: Dorsey launched “bitchat”, an offline, encrypted Bluetooth messenger — built for privacy, not clicks.

Web3? For Block, it’s just called the internet now.

🧠 Bigger Picture

SP 500 inclusion doesn’t just boost Block’s credibility — it deepens Bitcoin’s legitimacy in traditional markets.

• 💼 More ETFs will now hold BTC-exposed companies by default
• 🧩 TradFi finally absorbing onchain-native business models
• 📉 Resistance to crypto exposure inside legacy portfolios is collapsing

Dorsey called it years ago. Now Wall Street is forced to play catch-up.

⚡ TL;DR

• 🏛️ Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. joins SP 500 on July 23, 2025
• 📈 Stock jumped 8.5% premarket on the news
• 💰 Company holds 8,584 BTC, tightly aligned with Bitcoin strategy
• ⚡ Rolling out BTC payments via Square (Lightning Network)
• 📱 Launched bitchat, a decentralized offline messaging app
• 📊 Marks deepening crypto integration into legacy financial systems
• 🧠 The SP 500 just got its first Bitcoin-native financial operator