Block has agreed in principle to pay $764 million to resolve a US Justice Department investigation into its anti-money-laundering controls, according to a 3 November SEC filing that CoinDesk reviewed. The proposed deal would defer for three years a criminal charge alleging Block failed to maintain an effective programme under the Bank Secrecy Act.
The gross figure is about $964 million, cut to $764 million after credits for earlier regulatory settlements. Block says it has already set the sum aside, and it exceeds the company’s $566 million third-quarter net income.
The inquiry traces to 2023, after a Hindenburg Research report alleged that Cash App counted duplicate and fraudulent accounts and let criminals exploit weak identity checks. Block called the report inaccurate and misleading. The SEC closed its own investigation in March without recommending enforcement, and New York’s financial regulator fined Block $40 million in April 2025.
The quarterly results arrived alongside it. Revenue was $6.72 billion and gross profit rose 22 percent to $3.24 billion, and Block raised its full-year gross profit forecast to $12.63 billion. Shares rose about 6 percent after hours, The Block reports.
Bitcoin was the weak spot. Gross profit from the bitcoin ecosystem halved to $52 million, which Block put down to a decision to cut fees on certain bitcoin transactions in Cash App.
The settlement remains an agreement in principle. Neither report says when the Justice Department or a court will finalise it, or whether the deferral terms will survive as described.
