Jack Dorsey’s digital payments firm Block unveiled plans to enable Bitcoin payments directly on its Square platform by 2026. The payments will be facilitated via the Lightning Network.
At the Bitcoin Conference 2025 this week in Las Vegas, Square is piloting real-time Bitcoin payments. Attendees can scan and spend crypto for T-shirts, hoodies, and hats at the BTC Inc. merchandise store.
The Thursday launch marked the public debut of Block’s ambitious move, “making Bitcoin everyday money.”
Jack Dorsey wrote to his over 6 million followers on X that merchants can either choose to hold the Bitcoin, or auto-convert it to fiat in real-time.
Block Plans Phased Rollout by 2026
The planned roll-out will begin in the second half of 2025, an official release read. The feature is expected to expand to all eligible merchants by 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
“Block has long been a champion of Bitcoin, focused on making it more accessible and usable in our everyday lives,” said Miles Suter, BTC product lead at Block.
Suter helped oversee the setup of the new Square Bitcoin checkout, which he calls a “significant milestone” in making the crypto more accessible and usable.
He joined Block in 2017, contributing to several of the company’s key milestones, including its Cash App’s Bitcoin integration.
“Somebody’s got to be first,” he told CNBC, talking about the current Bitcoin payments feature. “And we feel like we have the right DNA to push things forward.”
“We believe in an open, decentralized, fair, fast, and low-cost money system for everyone, and that’s exactly what we want to bring to Square sellers.”
In April, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey publicly urged Signal Messenger to integrate Bitcoin for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. Dorsey has long maintained that Bitcoin’s utility in daily transactions is essential for its long-term success.
Expanding the Bitcoin Ecosystem
Apart from payments on Square, Block is expanding its Bitcoin ecosystem with products such as Cash App’s bitcoin buy, sell, and transfer features.
Additionally, Block is expanding global access to Bitcoin through Bitkey, a self-custody BTC wallet, with the launch of new privacy and security features starting this month.
Besides, Block is building Proto, its suite of bitcoin mining products and services, “to decentralize mining,” the release noted.
Meanwhile, following the Bitcoin payments roll-out, Block Inc. shares climbed 5.81%, reaching an intraday high of $62.66, before settling at $62.17 on May 27.
The post Jack Dorsey’s Block to Launch Bitcoin Payments on Square by 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.
