Square's product chief on the death of the penny and the future of money

In this episode of Decoder, Nilay Patel interviews Willem Ave, the Head of Product at Square, to discuss the company's evolution, its organizational structure under Block, and its strategic direction, particularly regarding AI and cryptocurrency. Willem explains Square's transition from a simple payment solution to a comprehensive commerce platform, emphasizing the importance of hardware and software integration. He details the functional restructuring of Block, Square's parent company, and how it fosters alignment and resource sharing across different units like Tidal and Cash App. The conversation explores Square's AI roadmap, focusing on how AI can empower small business owners by providing actionable insights from their data through natural language queries and deterministic systems. Additionally, they discuss Square's approach to cryptocurrency, its role in enabling various payment options, and the challenges and opportunities presented by Bitcoin.