Square, the payment processing company owned by Jack Dorsey’s Block, has launched a new feature that will allow local businesses to receive Bitcoin at the point of sale and hold the digital assets in a unified wallet. This is a move that could accelerate the use of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange.
Announced on Wednesday, the new Square Bitcoin service will allow sellers to accept payments in Bitcoin (BTC) and automatically convert a portion of their sales into BTC. Square is waiving processing fees until 2026, and a 1% transaction fee will apply starting January 1, 2027.
Sellers can store their Bitcoin in a dedicated wallet that can be accessed from Square’s existing dashboard, where they can also buy, sell, or withdraw their assets. This service is available only to sellers in the United States, excluding New York State, and is not available to sellers internationally.
More than 4 million merchants use Square’s payments platform, according to company data, so this development could be an important step toward broader cryptocurrency adoption.
It’s no surprise that Square would embrace Bitcoin. The company previously announced plans to roll out the service by 2026, a move that aligns with Block Inc.’s broader crypto strategy and the vision of CEO Jack Dorsey, a longtime supporter of Bitcoin.
Mr. Dorsey previously led efforts to integrate Bitcoin transactions and payments into Cash App, Block’s peer-to-peer payment service, and to develop an open-source Bitcoin mining system to reduce costs in the energy-intensive mining sector.
According to industry data, Block Inc. currently holds 8,692 BTC on its balance sheet, making it the world’s 13th largest public Bitcoin holder.
Related article: Jack Dorsey’s block joins S&P 500, stock soars 9% in after-hours
Cryptocurrency payments are back in focus
The use of cryptocurrencies in payments is gaining renewed attention as the regulatory environment in the United States becomes more favorable and digital assets are recognized as a legitimate asset class.
Square cited an eMarketer study that says the use of cryptocurrency payments in the U.S. is expected to increase by 82% between 2024 and 2026, reflecting new momentum in the sector.
According to a recent YouGov survey, consumers in the US and UK are increasingly considering payments to be the primary use case for cryptocurrencies. The study also notes that advances in artificial intelligence could accelerate adoption as new AI tools integrate financial and trading functions.
This is in line with a broader trend in which AI agents are expected to accept and initiate cryptocurrency transactions, especially using stablecoins. Google’s newly announced Agent Payments Protocol aims to facilitate this change by positioning cryptocurrencies as a key component of the AI-driven economy.
Meanwhile, payments giant PayPal is expanding its peer-to-peer cryptocurrency offering, allowing users to send and receive payments using Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), and the US dollar-pegged stablecoin PYUSD (PYUSD).
Related: Cryptocurrency payments abroad could be legal in some countries despite being banned domestically
