Square has just activated a major feature: more than 4 million businesses in the United States can now accept Bitcoin with a single click. This integration marks a concrete step toward the everyday use of BTC as an accessible, flexible, and fee-free payment method for merchants.
Simplified Bitcoin payments for merchants in the United States thanks to Square and Jack Dorsey
Square, Jack Dorsey’s subsidiary specializing in payment solutions, has just taken BTC to another level: more than 4 million businesses can now accept Bitcoin payments via their payment terminals.
This new feature, integrated into Square terminals, allows merchants to accept payments in Bitcoin or dollars and freely choose the currency in which they receive payments. They can:
- accept Bitcoin and receive dollars,
- accept Bitcoin and receive Bitcoin,
accept dollars and receive dollars,
accept dollars and receive Bitcoin,
and even choose the portion of the payment to be received in BTC or dollars.The option is currently reserved for in-person payments, but online and invoice payments should also be supported soon.
Another advantage for merchants that should appeal to them is that no conversion fees will be applied until 2027. After that, a rate of 1% will come into effect, which is much lower than bank fees on card payments, which generally vary between 2% and 4%.
In recent hours, users have reported on social media that they have been able to pay with Bitcoin in several stores, including cafes in the United States. For example, in Austin, Texas, Medici Coffee Roasters has already adopted the solution and welcomed several customers who came to spend their Bitcoin.
Square had already begun this transition last October with a feature that allows merchants to convert a portion of their daily sales into BTC. This new service goes even further in integrating BTC into retail businesses.
In addition, Cash App has launched an interactive map to locate merchants accepting Bitcoin around the world. Jack Dorsey is encouraging users to promote local adoption by highlighting Bitcoin’s resilience in the face of the erosion of fiat currencies’ purchasing power, but also by showing that accepting Bitcoin also attracts new customers.
Towards a more favorable tax regime for Bitcoin payments
The adoption of Bitcoin is changing around the world, but especially in the United States. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a bill in early October to ease taxation on the everyday use of Bitcoin.
Lummis proposes to exempt transactions under $300 from tax, with a limit of $5,000 per year. This measure would reduce the administrative burden of calculating capital gains on each expenditure and encourage the use of BTC.
The bill also stipulates that income from mining and staking would only be taxed when converted into dollars. Losses incurred in cryptocurrencies could also be deducted from other investments.
This law would only be valid for 10 years, until 2035, leaving future governments the option to adapt it if necessary.
