Technology company Block Inc, which operates multiple digital asset ecosystem business units, will be added to the S&P 500 index effective Wednesday, July 23. After the news was confirmed late Friday, the stock rose 10% in after-hours trading. The company stated in a release: "This is a milestone that reflects the strength of our business and the efforts of thousands of people building tools to increase economic access, as seen in our brands, including Square, Cash App, Afterpay, TIDAL, Proto, and Bitkey." "We thank our customers, teams, and shareholders for being with us every step of the way. We're just getting started." Block (stock code XYZ) was originally founded in 2009 as Square, initially focusing on providing financial services and mobile payment solutions. In December 2021, the company rebranded to Block Inc. to reflect its growing interest and involvement in blockchain technology and digital assets. Block's Bitkey division is a simple self-custody wallet built for Bitcoin, while Proto is a suite of Bitcoin mining products and services. About two months after Coinbase became the first pure cryptocurrency company to join the benchmark index, Block was also added to the S&P 500. Block will replace Hess, which exited the index due to acquisition by Chevron. Last summer, Block began investing 10% of its Bitcoin profits into BTC monthly and open-sourced its treasury blueprint so others could follow suit. The company holds 8,584 BTC, worth approximately $1 billion at current prices.