:Jack Dorsey-led Block Inc said it has slowed hiring and will slash its 2022 investment target by $250 million, after a slump in bitcoin prices dragged the digital payments company to a loss in the second quarter.Regulatory hurdles facing cryptocurrencies, rising interest rates and the Ukraine crisis have walloped investor appetite for riskier assets, pulling bitcoin prices down about 36 per cent in the quarter.
Block's recently acquired buy-now-pay-later unit Afterpay contributed $150 million of gross profit in the quarter, split across the company's Square and Cash App segments. That helped Cash App post a 29 per cent jump in gross profit. Excluding one-time items, it reported a profit of 18 cents, slightly higher than analysts' estimates of 17 cents a share, according to Refinitiv IBES.