"Today, I witnessed the Bitcoin payment system in action at Medici Café in Texas—I bought coffee with Bitcoin." Parker Lewis, Head of Business Development at Bitcoin and fiat payment platform Zaprite, shared this on X.
At the same time, Katie Ananina, Chief Marketing Officer of tech platform CitizenX, also reported that she became the first customer to use Bitcoin for payment at the café.
All of this stems from payment giant Square’s official launch of its Bitcoin payment feature on November 10. This service is now available to over 4 million merchants using Square.
01 Payment Revolution: Bitcoin Becomes a Daily Payment Option
Square, a subsidiary of Block co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has officially rolled out Bitcoin payment capabilities for merchants.
This innovative feature allows merchants to accept Bitcoin at checkout through Square’s point-of-sale system.
Jack Dorsey, Block’s co-founder, stated in an X post on Monday that with this new feature, Square merchants can now accept payments in Bitcoin-to-Bitcoin, Bitcoin-to-fiat, fiat-to-Bitcoin, or fiat-to-fiat.
This flexibility enables both merchants and customers to use Bitcoin seamlessly.
Jacob Szymik, Square’s Account Manager, revealed that Bitcoin payments are currently only available for in-person purchases and point-of-sale terminals, but online and invoice options "are in development," with updates expected soon.
02 Zero Fees: Square’s Bitcoin Adoption Strategy
Square’s fee policy is a major highlight of its Bitcoin payment feature. The company plans to waive all Bitcoin transaction fees until 2027.
After 2027, a fee of about 1% is expected to be charged—still lower than the typical 1.5% to 4% charged by credit cards.
This cost advantage makes Bitcoin payments highly attractive to merchants.
"Many of us have tried to get merchants to accept BTC. For years, it’s been painful," Katie Ananina commented in another post.
"You actually have to orange-pill the people behind the business, get them to become Bitcoin holders themselves and join in. Today’s move by Square is absolutely legendary—it dramatically lowers the barrier to entry."
03 Coverage: Bitcoin Payment Network Spans Eight Countries
According to the company, more than 4 million sellers use Square in eight countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
However, the current Bitcoin payment feature is primarily aimed at U.S. merchants, with New York State explicitly excluded.
This restriction is mainly due to New York’s unique regulatory environment.
Multiple X users have reported using the Bitcoin payment feature, indicating that the system is already operational.
In addition to in-store payments, Dorsey also shared a post from the Head of Product Design at Block’s peer-to-peer payment service Cash App, announcing the launch of a map displaying all merchants worldwide that accept Bitcoin.
04 Market Impact: The Era of Bitcoin Payments Has Arrived
This development comes as the Bitcoin price is rebounding. According to Gate’s cryptocurrency market analysis on November 11, Bitcoin is currently trading at $106,655.3, with a 24-hour fluctuation of 0.61%.
On the sentiment front, the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index has dropped to 26, placing it in the "Fear" zone.
This sentiment indicator suggests the market is overly pessimistic, and prices may be undervalued. Historically, when the index falls below 30, it often signals a medium- to long-term buying opportunity.
A YouGov survey conducted in July found that among 1,000 respondents in the U.S. and U.K., 37% believe payments are the primary use case for cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
This reflects growing consumer interest in crypto payments.
05 Merchant Adoption: How Square’s Bitcoin Payments Work in Practice
For merchants, Square’s Bitcoin payment system is designed to be simple and practical. Merchants can accept Bitcoin at checkout via Square POS and automatically convert a selected percentage of sales into Bitcoin.
Merchants can hold BTC in a dedicated Square wallet or use the same interface to buy, sell, or withdraw BTC.
"Convince your local Square seller to enable Bitcoin acceptance—zero sales fees. Encourage them to hold it as Bitcoin to help them better hedge against dollar depreciation," Dorsey added.
This system not only makes it easy for merchants to accept Bitcoin payments, but also offers them an opportunity for asset diversification.
According to internal surveys, about 29% of sellers are exploring the use of Bitcoin conversion as business savings, and 89% of interested merchants plan to hold Bitcoin as a long-term treasury asset.
06 Looking Ahead: The Path to Mainstream Bitcoin Payments
The launch of Square’s Bitcoin payment feature marks a significant milestone in the adoption of cryptocurrency in commerce.
With its user-friendly interface and low fees, it has the potential to encourage more businesses and individuals to use Bitcoin for everyday payments.
Miles Suter, Head of Bitcoin at Block, stated: "We’re making Bitcoin payments as seamless as card payments. Through Square and Cash App, we’re helping Bitcoin become an everyday currency—not just a store of value."
For small businesses, Square Bitcoin could mean lower costs and faster settlements compared to card networks.
For Bitcoin itself, this represents a strong step toward becoming a usable currency, not just digital gold.
Future Outlook
As more merchants enable Bitcoin acceptance through the Square system, we may soon see new signs on storefronts—not just "Visa" and "Mastercard Accepted," but also "Bitcoin Accepted Here."
As Jack Dorsey envisions, a new era of Bitcoin-powered payments is quietly emerging.
