- 1Square is rolling out bitcoin acceptance in all U.S. states except New York.
- 2Cash App customers can pay with a dollar balance over the Lightning Network.
- 3Stablecoin payments over Solana are planned for early 2026.
Square is rolling out bitcoin acceptance to merchants in every U.S. state except New York. The pitch is that sellers can avoid card processing fees when customers pay with bitcoin, while also eliminating chargeback risk.
How it works
Customers do not need to hold bitcoin. Cash App customers with a cash balance can pay a Square merchant in dollars, with the payment moving over Bitcoin's Lightning Network. Customers who do own bitcoin can pay through Cash App or another Lightning-compatible wallet, such as Coinbase, and the merchant likewise avoids a transaction fee. Merchants do not need much bitcoin expertise.
The move targets the card networks and their bank partners directly, since it bypasses their fees.
Block's broader bitcoin push
Block, Square's parent, is hoping bitcoin payments catch on. CEO Jack Dorsey, a longtime bitcoin advocate and financier, is trying to move the public story of bitcoin back toward everyday money and away from its image as a Wall Street investment or digital gold. His post on November 10, 2025 read "it's time."
Block has also replaced the existing peer-to-peer Cash App network with the Lightning Network, so Cash App users can now send and receive money outside Cash App using something other than a $cashtag.
Square will add stablecoin payments over the Solana blockchain starting in early 2026 and will look at other blockchains, though it says it will stay bitcoin-centric.
the independent and free currency is here.
Reaction
Bitcoin-focused groups welcomed the launch. Spiral posted resources to help merchants make the case against card fees. Others noted that for Cash App users the payment is not a taxable event and does not reduce their bitcoin holdings, and that merchants face no fees or chargebacks.
Source reporting: deBanked.
