Square, the fintech arm of Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc., has unveiled a new service allowing merchants in the United States to accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments directly at checkout — a move that could accelerate mainstream adoption of crypto for everyday commerce.

Announced on Wednesday, the feature enables businesses using Square’s point-of-sale systems to receive Bitcoin from customers and hold it in an integrated digital wallet within their Square dashboard. Merchants can also choose to automatically convert a portion of their BTC sales into fiat currency or keep it as Bitcoin.

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Square said it will waive all processing fees through 2026, with a standard 1% transaction fee set to take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The company emphasized that the service is designed for ease of use and minimal friction, offering merchants full control over how much Bitcoin exposure they want.

The new Bitcoin payment system is currently available only to U.S. sellers — excluding New York State due to local licensing restrictions — but global expansion may follow based on user demand and regulatory conditions.

With over 4 million merchants already using Square’s platform, this rollout represents one of the largest coordinated pushes to integrate Bitcoin payments into mainstream retail.

Source: StarPlatinum

Dorsey’s Long-Term Bitcoin Vision

Square’s Bitcoin integration aligns closely with Jack Dorsey’s broader vision for digital payments. As a vocal Bitcoin advocate, Dorsey has repeatedly stated his belief that BTC will become the “native currency of the internet.”

Block Inc., Square’s parent company, already integrates Bitcoin services into its Cash App, enabling users to buy, sell, and send BTC. It also runs an open-source Bitcoin mining initiative focused on lowering energy and hardware barriers for individuals and businesses entering the mining ecosystem.

Block currently holds 8,692 BTC on its corporate balance sheet — worth roughly $1.08 billion at current market prices — making it the 13th-largest public Bitcoin holder globally, according to industry data.

Crypto Payments Regain Momentum

Square’s new service comes amid a resurgence in crypto-based payments and renewed interest from both consumers and businesses.

According to research by eMarketer, the number of people using crypto for payments in the United States is expected to rise 82% between 2024 and 2026, as digital assets increasingly enter mainstream commerce.

A separate YouGov study found that consumers in the U.S. and the U.K. see crypto payments as one of the most promising real-world applications for digital currencies. Advances in artificial intelligence are also playing a role, with new AI tools gaining the ability to initiate and manage crypto transactions autonomously.

Tech giants are taking note. Google’s Agent Payments Protocol, announced this year, will allow AI agents to handle stablecoin transactions, while PayPal continues expanding its crypto payment network to include Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), and its own PYUSD stablecoin.

Source: Cointelegraph

Together, these developments signal that Bitcoin and other digital assets are moving closer to their original goal — functioning as usable, borderless money rather than purely speculative investments.