Jack Dorsey’s financial services firm Block, Inc. will launch Bitcoin payments on Square, its payments processing arm, with a rollout to begin later this year before a full launch in 2026. The company announced the plan at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on May 27, where Block demonstrated the feature at the BTC Inc. merchandise store. Merchants will be able to accept Bitcoin ( BTC ) payments through existing Square hardware using the Lightning Network, Bitcoin’s faster, lower-cost layer-2 scaling network. “Merchants can choose to hold the Bitcoin, or auto-convert it to fiat in real-time,” Dorsey said on X. The company said it expects to start rolling out in the second half of 2025, reaching all eligible Square sellers by 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The move builds on Square’s existing Bitcoin Conversions feature that allows merchants to automatically convert sales to BTC. For consumers, payment is as simple as scanning a QR code, with Square handling the technicalities behind the scenes and Lightning enabling near-instant settlement. Source: Jack Dorsey “This is about economic empowerment for merchants who like to have options when it comes to accepting payments,” said Block’s Bitcoin Product Lead Miles Suter. Related: Jack Dorsey’s Block is ‘DCA’ing’ into Bitcoin every month The company added that, starting in May, it’s adding new privacy and security features to its self-custody BTC wallet Bitkey that it launched in late 2023, which are designed to make self-custody more accessible without traditional seed phrases. Stake n’ Shake slashes fees on BTC adoption Meanwhile, Dan Edwards, the operating chief of American fast food chain Stake n’ Shake, said on stage at Bitcoin 2025 that the firm has cut its payment processing fees in half by adopting Bitcoin payments. STEAK ‘N SHAKE CEO SAYS PEOPLE CAN NOW “PAY FOR YOUR FRANCHISE USING #BITCOIN ” WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE 🚀 pic.twitter.com/kTqHCazQDy — The Bitcoin Conference (@TheBitcoinConf) May 27, 2025 “Our experience so far with Bitcoin has been that it is faster than credit cards, and when customers choose to pay in Bitcoin instead of credit cards, we are saving about 50% in our processing fees,” Edwards said. “This means that Bitcoin is a win for the customer, a win for us, the merchant, and a win for you in the Bitcoin community.” On May 9, Stake n’ Shake announced that it will begin accepting Bitcoin as payment at all restaurant locations globally starting on May 16. Magazine: Bitcoin bears eye $69K, CZ denies WLF ‘fixer’ rumors: Hodler’s Digest
