The Daily: Bitcoin drives nearly a third of Q3 revenue for Jack Dorsey's Block, Kazakhstan to launch $1 billion crypto reserve, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Friday! Bitcoin is still trading above $100,000 after a bruising week of downside volatility, now buoyed by renewed institutional inflows and signs of whale accumulation that, analysts say, suggest confidence is quietly returning to the largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

In today's newsletter, Jack Dorsey's Block sees nearly $2 billion in bitcoin revenue in Q3, Kazakhstan plans to launch a $1 billion crypto reserve fund by 2026, JPMorgan says IREN's AI-cloud expansion is driving long-term upside but a near-term strain on its balance sheet, and more.

Let's get started!

P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!

Bitcoin drives nearly a third of Q3 revenue for Jack Dorsey's Block

Jack Dorsey's Block generated $1.97 billion in bitcoin revenue for Q3 — nearly one-third of its total revenues — despite an 18% year-over-year decline.

• The fintech and bitcoin infrastructure firm reported third-quarter earnings of $461.5 million on revenue of $6.11 billion during the period, according to its 10-Q filing with the SEC on Thursday.
• Block delivered 18% gross profit growth year-over-year, led by 24% growth in Cash App and 9% growth in Square, Dorsey wrote in a shareholder letter.
• However, adjusted operating income of $409 million and EBITDA of $833 million both landed below consensus estimates.
  Bitcoin now represents Block's second-largest revenue source behind subscription and services-based revenue.
• Block's bitcoin costs also dropped to $1.89 billion in Q3, though its 8,780 BTC balance sheet holdings booked a $59 million quarterly remeasurement loss.
• Block shares closed down 3.7% on Thursday and have fallen a further 8.2% in Friday trading to around $65, according to The Block's price page.
• The company recently expanded its bitcoin ecosystem with new fee-free BTC payments for Square merchants, adding to its BitKey wallet device and mining hardware plans.

Kazakhstan to launch $1 billion crypto reserve fund using seized assets by 2026

Kazakhstan will launch a $500 million to $1 billion national crypto reserve fund by early 2026, in part using seized and repatriated assets plus proceeds from state mining, Bloomberg reported.

• Central bank Governor Timur Suleimenov said the fund's investments would also include ETFs and crypto firms, but it would be "very careful about direct exposure to cryptocurrencies."
• The move marks Kazakhstan's most concrete step toward institutionalizing its crypto strategy after years of experiments with state mining operations and tighter oversight of private miners.
• The reserve will be managed under the Astana International Financial Centre — the country's main financial hub for blockchain and fintech development — and may include foreign partners once operational, according to officials.

IREN's AI-cloud expansion driving long-term upside but near-term strain on balance sheet: JPMorgan

JPMorgan analysts said IREN's $9.7 billion Microsoft deal cements its shift into AI infrastructure long-term, but warned the rapid buildout will strain its balance sheet as the company spends more than $9 billion on GPUs and data-center expansion over the next year.

• The analysts raised their December 2026 price target for IREN to $28, citing strong AI-cloud momentum and new hyperscale partnerships, while flagging dilution risk from equity issuance and convertible note conversions.
• IREN expects the Microsoft contract to generate roughly $1.94 billion in annual recurring revenue with project-level margins near 85%, supporting its plan to scale to 140,000 GPUs and $3.4 billion in run-rate revenue by 2026.
• The bitcoin miner's shares traded around $60 on Friday after a sharp post-earnings pullback, but remain more than double JPMorgan's target, reflecting investor enthusiasm for its AI pivot.

Bybit and Backed partner to bring tokenized Nvidia and Strategy stocks to Mantle

Bybit and Backed Finance have teamed up to bring tokenized shares of companies like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Strategy onto the Mantle Layer 2 network.

• The collaboration lets users move assets between Bybit and Mantle for faster onboarding and deeper liquidity while enabling non-U.S. investors to access the tokenized equities permissionlessly.
• Backed's xStocks, integrated with Kraken and major Solana DeFi protocols since June, have already surpassed $1.6 billion in onchain volume, the company said.
• Real-world assets, including tokenized equities, are expected by some to grow into a multi-trillion-dollar market.

Zcash tops $10B market cap, surpassing Hyperliquid to reclaim top-20 spot

Zcash surged past a $10 billion market cap on Friday, flipping cycle-darling Hyperliquid to reclaim a top 20 spot after surging more than 25% over the past 24 hours to add to its ongoing Q4 rally.

• The privacy-focused cryptocurrency climbed from $75 to more than $700 in six weeks, reaching its highest level since 2018 even as major cryptocurrencies continued to slump in the wake of the Oct. 10 historic liquidation event.
• Rising shielded supply, stronger wallet infrastructure, and renewed privacy narratives are driving usage, liquidity, and prices higher, analysts said, with Maelstrom's Arthur Hayes calling for a $1,000 near-term target.

Looking ahead to next week

• UK GDP figures are due on Thursday, followed by U.S. CPI inflation data and jobless claims. Eurozone GDP numbers are released on Friday.
• Euler, Axie Infinity, Aptos, Linea, Movement, IOTA, Avalanche, and Wormhole are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
• Mining Disrupt Conference & Expo, Bitcoin Amsterdam, and Crypto Fest 2025 all get underway.

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