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Square Turns On Bitcoin Checkout for 4 Million U.S. Merchants

Lightning support brings instant, no‑chargeback payments with flexible settlement to cash or bitcoin.

Overview

  • Square sellers across the United States can now accept bitcoin at checkout via terminals and QR codes, with New York excluded due to state regulatory hurdles.
  • Merchants can hold receipts in bitcoin or auto‑convert to U.S. dollars from the Square Dashboard, with support for btc‑to‑btc, btc‑to‑fiat, fiat‑to‑btc, or fiat‑to‑fiat flows, according to Jack Dorsey.
  • Block is advertising zero processing fees for bitcoin payments during an introductory period, though reports differ on whether the promotion ends in 2026 or 2027.
  • Transactions run over the Bitcoin Lightning Network for near‑instant settlement and no chargebacks, while currency conversions may incur a small fee.
  • The nationwide rollout follows a Lightning pilot at Compass Coffee in Washington, D.C., and the features are available today on Square’s free, Plus, and Premium plans.