Square rolls out Bitcoin payments for millions of merchants worldwide
Square, the payment app owned by Block, has officially introduced support for Bitcoin payments, opening cryptocurrency transactions to more than 4 million merchants across the globe. The new feature is already being tested in coffee shops across the United States.
Jack Dorsey’s vision for crypto payments
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Block, announced that the new feature gives both merchants and customers complete flexibility. Buyers can now pay using either Bitcoin or traditional currency, while sellers can choose whether to receive their proceeds in Bitcoin or fiat money.
Dorsey emphasized that this update marks another step toward integrating Bitcoin into everyday life, calling on users to “convince local merchants to enable Bitcoin payments on Square—with zero fees—and to hold Bitcoin to better withstand dollar devaluation.”
Early access and development roadmap
At this stage, Bitcoin payments are limited to in-person purchases made through Square’s point-of-sale terminals. According to Jacob Szymik, a customer success manager at Square, online payments and invoicing tools are currently in development and will be available soon.
To encourage adoption, Square has introduced a fee-free period through 2027. After that, the company plans to apply a 1% transaction fee, which remains lower than the standard 1.5–4% charged by traditional credit card processors.
Square initially announced its Bitcoin integration plans in October, allowing merchants to automatically convert a portion of their sales revenue into Bitcoin. The rollout was expected to take place by 2026, but the company accelerated its timeline to meet growing demand.
Merchants and users embrace the change
Square currently serves merchants in eight countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. Early adopters have already begun testing Bitcoin payments in the real world.
One of the first success stories came from Texas, where Parker Lewis, Head of Business Development at Zaprite, bought a coffee at Medici café using Bitcoin. “A great day for Medici, Square, all merchants, and Bitcoin as a whole,” he wrote on X.
Katie Ananina, Chief Marketing Officer at CitizenX, was also among the first to try the feature at the same café. She noted how difficult it used to be to convince merchants to accept Bitcoin, as it often required owners to personally believe in cryptocurrency’s value.
Growing interest in crypto payments
Dorsey also highlighted a new feature in Cash App, Square’s sister platform—a global map that shows all merchants accepting Bitcoin payments through Square.
Meanwhile, broader public sentiment toward cryptocurrency payments is trending upward. A YouGov survey conducted in July found that 37% of respondents in the U.S. and U.K. view payments as the primary use case for both cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence.
