Block (formerly Square Inc.) has announced a pilot for Bitcoin payment on its platform, Square. Jack Dorsey, Block’s principal executive officer and chairman, and Head of Business Owen Jennings, said the company has started onboarding its first customers on the payment platform. The service is based on Lightning Network technology and supports merchants to achieve low-cost, near-instant Bitcoin payments through Square devices.
The news comes after Block officially joined the S&P 500 index on Wednesday, which pumped its share prices. The New York Stock Exchange-listed company, which owns Square, Cash App, and TIDAL, rose 0.5%, but is on a massive 14% gain in one week. The move highlights Dorsey’s ambitious plan to make Bitcoin the world’s dominant currency.
Square Finally Integrates Bitcoin Payment Services
Owen Jennings announced on X that Block’s point of sale payment company, Square, has begun to add customers to experience transacting in BTC. Calling it the “Bitcoin acceptance experience,” Jennings stresses that piloting Bitcoin payment services will foster adoption and allow for cheaper, low-cost transactions.
The idea to add BTC payment services surfaced in May when Square announced it will leverage the Lightning Network as its L2 infrastructure. The team cites the Lightning Network’s cheaper and faster transactions as reasons for their choice. Also, customers will be able to make smaller purchases with Bitcoin.
In an announcement made in May, the Square team said, leveraging the Lightning Network will enable merchants to accept BTC payments directly through the Square app for instant, low-cost transactions. “Cryptocurrency gives economic empowerment to merchants,” they said.
Jack Dorsey’s Vision Becoming a Reality
Jack Dorsey has been a Bitcoin advocate who has long spoken about making the world’s largest cryptocurrency a dominant medium of exchange. The former Twitter (X) founder and executive resigned his position as CEO in 2021 before the sale of the social media platform in 2022 to Billionaire titan Elon Musk.
Dorsey joined the board of Bluesky, a spin-off of Twitter. Bluesky is a decentralized social networking protocol and app, but Dorsey left, as the company’s views no longer aligned with his. Although he founded Square much earlier than Bluesky, his interest in Blockchain and Bitcoin became apparent over time, and he gave it a go. The pilot for Bitcoin payment reflects his unending desire to promote Bitcoin as a true payment solution.
More Payment Platforms to Integrate Bitcoin Payment Services?
Integrating Bitcoin payment services is rising, as institutional acceptance of BTC increases. It shows that fintech companies are recognizing the role of BTC in easing payments. It’s no longer a store-of-value people conceptualized it to be, but a viable means of payment. Those with limited or no access to banking services can rely on BTC payments on the app.
Besides Square, its brother app, Cash App, has long integrated Bitcoin payment services. Users can send, receive, and purchase Bitcoin at any time.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading below $117k, after hitting an all-time high of $123k last week. The digital asset is down 2% in a day, but still on 8% monthly gain.
What’s Jack Dorsey’s Next Move?
The X founder is currently working on a decentralized messaging app called Bitchat. It is a peer-to-peer app built with end-to-end encryption using Bluetooth mesh networks. This is part of Dorsey’s broader plan to break free from centralization, embrace full autonomy in communication.
