Overview
- Square says more than 4 million merchants using its terminals will be enabled for Bitcoin payments over Lightning starting Nov. 10, after Cash App reported that 25% of its Bitcoin payments already run on Lightning.
- Public disclosures cite measurable Lightning income, including a 24% annualized yield reported by LQWD and a 9.79% yield highlighted by Cash App/Block.
- Commentary urges treasury managers to deploy idle BTC as Lightning liquidity to earn routing fees and transaction‑volume rewards without giving up self‑custody.
- The number of bitcoin treasury companies has more than doubled in six months, spanning new and global entrants such as MetaPlanet in Japan, OranjeBTC in Brazil, Strive in the U.S., Tether and Jack Maller’s Twenty One.
- The treasury model is being tested as premiums compress and some firms trade below net asset value, while Lightning operations carry risks like rebalancing challenges, fee competition and volatility that enterprise tools aim to mitigate.