Jack Dorsey's Square announced Monday it has begun automatically enabling Bitcoin payment acceptance for millions of eligible US small businesses. Merchants need no extra setup — customers pay BTC, and the account receives USD directly.
Square posted on X: “The automatic enablement of Bitcoin payments is rolling out to eligible US Square sellers. Start accepting Bitcoin now, converted to cash instantly at checkout – no additional setup required.”
Zero Barrier, Zero Fee – Just Accept
The mechanism hides all crypto complexity in the back end: merchants don't need a digital wallet, don't manage private keys, and face no BTC price risk after a transaction. The exchange happens at checkout, and merchants always receive dollars.
Miles Suter, Block's Bitcoin product lead, said on X: “We're making it easier for millions of businesses to accept Bitcoin. This is the start of Bitcoin as everyday money.” He called it a long journey with “many steps ahead.”
The zero-fee offer runs through end of 2026 and supports near-instant settlement. For traditional businesses hesitant about crypto, this removes nearly every adoption barrier.
David Marcus: Finance's “TCP/IP Moment”
Lightspark CEO and former PayPal president David Marcus compared Square's move to the birth of the TCP/IP protocol in the 1970s — a set of rules that enabled global networks to communicate and became the backbone of the internet. He believes Bitcoin can become a universal standard for moving value across platforms, beyond just a speculative asset.
Square's user base is 78% US and 22% international. Bitcoin payments are currently limited to eligible US sellers; no international rollout timeline has been announced.