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Cash App Expands Crypto Rails With USD-to-Bitcoin Lightning Payments, Merchant Map, and Stablecoin Plan

Stablecoin support is planned for early 2026 subject to U.S. regulatory approval.

Overview

  • Lightning-enabled Bitcoin payments with automatic USD conversion are slated to launch later in November, letting customers pay BTC invoices without holding bitcoin.
  • A new Bitcoin Map surfaces nearby businesses that accept BTC, complementing Square’s recently enabled Bitcoin acceptance for U.S. merchants.
  • Cash App plans to add send and receive stablecoins early next year, converting incoming tokens to dollars in-app and converting dollars to stablecoins on outbound blockchain transfers.
  • The company says it will support multiple stablecoins and networks, with outside signals indicating an initial USDC-on-Solana implementation may be used.
  • Stablecoin features require regulatory clearance and will exclude New York and non-U.S. customers at launch, as Block maintains a Bitcoin-first strategy with Bitkey self-custody integrations targeted for 2026.