Square, Inc. (SQ) was founded in 2009 by entrepreneurs Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, fulfilling their dream of creating technology that combines merchant services and mobile payments into one simple, user-friendly service. Co-founders Dorsey, who also co-founded Twitter, and McKelvey started developing the company from a small office in St. Louis. The name “Square” comes from the company’s square-shaped card readers.
Over the following decade, Square, Inc released numerous new payment terminal versions, a range of Point of Sale (POS) hardware kits for larger businesses, and a constantly expanding array of complementary online tools and financial services. They also launched a standalone financial product called Cash App and acquired several subsidiary businesses such as the website builder Weebly and TIDAL, a music streaming service supported by Jay Z.
The company initially launched on the Squareup.com domain name and later acquired the exact brand match, Square.com, which now redirects to Squareup.com. Owning an EBM domain empowers brands to create strong positioning, not just in customers’ minds but also among investors and media. However, many startups face the challenge of finding their ideal URL already taken, especially when looking to have their brand name and domain name match. The chances narrow with short and simple words like Square, so one way to tackle this issue is to extend the brand name within the domain name. Square, Inc chose to add “up”, with adverbs being a great option since they allow you to retain almost the original URL you wanted while still including your brand name.
As Square, Inc evolved and expanded its offerings, venturing beyond its initial credit card-reader business and exploring technologies such as blockchain, it became apparent that the company had outgrown its original name. This prompted a rebrand to better reflect its current identity and future aspirations.
In 2021,the corporate entity previously known as Square Inc has changed its name to Block to distinguish it from its various businesses, which are like building blocks that make up the conglomerate. Despite the name change, there will be no organizational changes, and the individual brands of Square, Cash App, TIDAL, and TBD54566975 will continue to operate independently.
The name Block encompasses various meanings, such as building blocks, neighbourhood blocks, block parties, blockchain, and overcoming obstacles. Rebranding, in this case, allowed the business to maintain a strong market presence and convey its current and future objectives more accurately.
As Jack Dorsey said, the rebrand “acknowledges the company’s growth” and “creates room for further growth.”
We built the Square brand for our Seller business, which is where it belongs. Block is a new name, but our purpose of economic empowerment remains the same. No matter how we grow or change, we will continue to build tools to help increase access to the economy.
Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder and CEO of Square
The company has chosen the modern .xyz extension, popular among web3 companies, operating on Block.xyz. When navigating to Block.com, you’ll see a note stating, “This site can’t be reached,” which offers no clues about the domain’s owner. Given Square’s past experience with domain names, we are eager to see if they will secure the Block.com domain.
.xyz, introduced to the public in 2014 by Daniel Negari, first gained popularity in 2015 when Google’s parent company, Alphabet, chose it for their rebranded website. The internet giant faced an increasingly common issue—the .com URLs for their brand were already taken, with BMW’s fleet management division using alphabet.com and the American Broadcasting Corporation at abc.com.
Alphabet decided to establish its online presence at Abc.xyz, which presented an “unlimited branding opportunity” for its “futuristic company.” Due to Daniel’s interest in cryptocurrency, he reached out to Ethereum Name Service (ENS) creator Nick Johnson to propose a collaboration. By enabling cryptocurrency holders to purchase domains using their preferred names and Ethereum, ENS has ingeniously monetised users’ desire to utilise the internet as an identity-building tool, boosting the extension’s popularity within the crypto, blockchain and fintech industries.
Premium domain names are an important investment for any brand. If you’re ready to take the plunge and secure a premium domain name for your business, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for assistance. We’re here to help you choose the perfect domain name and get it set up for your brand.
Block.xyz branding business domain domain name domain names domains Jack Dorsey naming Square
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