Block, Inc., the digital payments company led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has agreed to pay a $40 million civil penalty to the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for allegedly failing to comply with cryptocurrency regulations and inadequate anti-money-laundering measures on its Cash App platform.
Though the company did not admit to any findings, the firm agreed to pay the fine and keep NYDFS’s preferred independent monitor for a year.
In addition, Block had already faced fines and settlements in a similar vein, including a $55 million fine from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an $80 million settlement with other state regulators.
Block reaches an agreement with the New York Department of Financial Services to settle the dispute
Just recently, the New York Department of Financial Services imposed a $ 40 million fine on Block following an investigation that revealed Block had neglected to monitor and promptly report suspicious transactions and failed to perform sufficient due diligence on its clients, the agency said in a consent order.
Additionally, it was alleged that Block neglected to screen and monitor high-risk Bitcoin transactions. The department discovered violations of laws about consumer protection.
Concerning this, in a statement, Block said, “Following our recent settlement with our other state money transmission regulators, we have now agreed with the final remaining state money transmission regulator, the New York Department of Financial Services, to resolve the matter principally related to Cash App’s past compliance program.”
According to the reports from sources Based in Oakland, California, Block has consented to pay the fine and retain the independent monitor that NYDFS had preferred for a year, even though they disagree with all of the findings stated in the order.
Block’s inability to keep up with its rapid user growth has resulted in multiple fines
The current penalty follows a previous $80 million settlement in January 2025 with 48 U.S. state regulators over similar violations. In that case, regulators found that Block’s services could be exploited for money laundering and terrorism financing due to insufficient compliance measures.
In a different case, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Block to pay up to $120 million in compensation to consumers who were harmed in January and $55 million in civil money penalties for failing to address fraud on the Cash App platform adequately.
In a February filing, the company said it was still negotiating with NYDFS on matters similar to the settlement offer it had received a month earlier.
To address this, the order highlighted that Block’s incapacity to keep up with the rapid user growth it experienced was the root cause of its alleged shortcomings. Since then, the firm has shifted its focus from prioritizing user growth to offering banking services to its established base.
Furthermore, in a statement, NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris mentioned that to safeguard customers and the financial system’s integrity, all financial institutions, whether traditional financial services firms or new cryptocurrency platforms, were supposed to adhere to the set guidelines strictly.
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