Square, led by Jack Dorsey, has initiated the introduction of bitcoin payment capabilities for its network of sellers. The rollout began with the onboarding of select merchants, who can now accept bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network. This development was announced by Owen Jennings, an executive at Block, Square's parent company, on Tuesday. The payment processing system leverages the Lightning Network for near-instant settlements, converting bitcoin into fiat currency through Square.
The company aims to extend this service to all its sales platform users by the following year. A pilot of this system was successfully tested at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, where attendees could make bitcoin purchases by scanning a barcode. Square views the Lightning Network as crucial in overcoming historical barriers to widespread bitcoin adoption, such as slow transaction speeds, by enabling rapid micropayment processing outside of the main Bitcoin blockchain.