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Block, the pro-Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) umbrella company that hosts Cash App, Square and Afterpay, continues its growth in 2022. According to its Shareholder letter<\/a>, in the first quarter of 2022, gross profits are \u201cup 34% year over year.\u201d<\/p>\n In total, the group netted $1.29 billion in gross profits. However, operating costs were also up \u201c$1.52 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up 70% year over year.\u201d\u00a0 The group explains that the acquisition of Afterpay, a buy now pay later service<\/a>, could explain the increasing costs.<\/p>\n In total net Block\u2019s revenues reached $3.96 billion from January to March 2022, down 22% compared to 2022. The group confirms that the drop was \u201cdriven by a decrease in Bitcoin revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n Cash App, Block\u2019s Bitcoin\u00a0retail outlet as well as a mobile payment service, continued to sell Satoshis, although the figures are less promising than the previous quarter<\/a>: <\/p>\n “Cash App generated $1.73 billion of Bitcoin revenue and $43 million of Bitcoin gross profit during the first quarter of 2022, down 51% and 42% year over year, respectively”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In light of\u00a0Bitcoin prices struggling to break $30,000<\/a>\u00a0in quarter two, the group will take encouragement from an increase in non-Bitcoin revenues in quarter one. On the march by 44$ year on year, to $2.23 billion, the Block ecosystem which also includes Tidal and the group TBD is not wholly dependent on crypto market performance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Plus, the Square ecosystem of payment solutions for merchants, including point of sale devices, has performed well. It delivered a “gross profit of $661 million, an increase of 41% year over year.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>FTX CEO sees no future in Bitcoin payments, community fires back<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The quarterly report made 81 mentions of Bitcoin and zero of cryptocurrency, holding true to Jack Dorsey\u2019s Bitcoin-maxi credentials<\/a>. Furthermore, the report states that over 10 million Cash App accounts have bought Bitcoin. Cash App does not offer the purchase of popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH<\/a>) or Dogecoin (DOGE<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n In April, it was announced that its customers in the United States could automatically invest a portion of their direct deposit paychecks into Bitcoin<\/a> using Cash App, or that their \u201cdirect deposits\u201d would automatically convert, says the report. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n