Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block has tentatively agreed to pay $764 million to settle a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into its anti-money-laundering safeguards. The proposed settlement is notably higher than the $566 million in profit the company generated during the third quarter.
Block reached the agreement in October, according to a November 3 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviewed by CoinDesk. The deal would postpone a criminal charge for three years over claims that the company failed to operate an adequate anti-money-laundering program under the Bank Secrecy Act.
The proposed settlement carries a total financial obligation of about $964 million. However, credits from previous regulatory agreements bring the amount payable down to $764 million. Block said it has already reserved the required funds.
The federal investigation began in 2023, when the Justice Department and SEC started reviewing Block’s compliance procedures and related disclosures after allegations emerged in a short-seller report. The SEC ended its separate probe in March without recommending any enforcement action.
Hindenburg Research accused Block of overstating Cash App’s user figures by including duplicate and fraudulent accounts. The short seller also alleged that insufficient identity verification allowed criminals to use the platform for fraudulent schemes, money laundering and other illicit transfers.
Block disputed the report, calling its conclusions misleading and inaccurate.
The company faced further regulatory scrutiny in April 2025, when New York’s financial regulator issued a $40 million fine over significant deficiencies in its compliance operations. According to the regulator, Block’s backlog of suspicious transaction alerts expanded from roughly 18,000 in 2018 to more than 169,000 by 2020.
The regulator also identified weaknesses in a screening tool that failed to automatically stop Bitcoin transfers to wallets associated with terrorist financing until exposure to those wallets exceeded 10%.
The settlement disclosure arrives as Block’s Bitcoin-related earnings on Cash App continue to weaken. Its latest quarterly results showed that lower transaction fees contributed to a substantial decline in gross profit from Bitcoin activity.
Block’s Bitcoin Gross Profit Slumps 50% in Third Quarter
Block’s Bitcoin ecosystem generated $52 million in gross profit during the third quarter, down 50% from $104 million recorded a year earlier. Revenue from the segment also declined 11% to $1.8 billion.
The company said the drop in profitability was largely driven by reduced fees on certain Bitcoin transactions, following its decision to lower trading costs for Cash App customers.
However, weakness in the Bitcoin business did not prevent growth across the rest of the company. Block’s total gross profit increased 22% to $3.24 billion, supported by higher activity in Cash App’s lending and payment services.
