Square, the payments arm of Block Inc., announced today a major breakthrough in payments infrastructure by offering more than four million of their merchant clients the option to accept Bitcoin at checkout using Lightning Network – with no transaction fees up until 2027!
CryptoSlate and Phemex both feature this news story extensively.
Here’s why the announcement matters for merchants, Bitcoin, and the payments world overall:
As of early November 2025, Square merchants across the U.S. (excluding New York in its initial phase) can begin accepting Bitcoin payments at point of sale, using Square’s Lightning QR codes generated from Square POS systems; payments settle instantly and the merchant may keep or convert payments immediately into U.S. dollars depending on their preference.
Square has announced they are waiving all processing fees associated with Bitcoin payments until 2027, when a standard one percent processing fee will apply – significantly less than most card network fees (typically 1.5 to 3 percent for merchants).
CryptoSlate
Briefly: A major payments-platform is now making Bitcoin purchases possible through everyday purchases – not simply buying crypto but actually spending it at checkout!
- Reducing merchant costs. For many small and mid-sized businesses, payment processing fees and chargebacks are an enormous drain on margins. Bitcoin payments via Lightning offer no chargebacks and cheaper rails while Square offers zero fees until 2027 as an incentive for merchants to switch some volume over.
- Real-World Bitcoin Utility. One of the long-standing criticisms of Bitcoin has been its inapplicability as currency; with millions of checkout endpoints now accepting it, its utility as daily money increases significantly.
Currency Analytics - Lightning Network Goes Mainstream. The integration utilizes the Lightning Network – a layer-2 protocol designed for fast, low-fee and scalable Bitcoin payments – with potentially wide scale adoption rates which could revolutionise retail payments architecture.
Phemex
4 Strategic Bet by Block/Square. Block is not simply adding another payment option; rather it is building out a comprehensive payments-infrastructure stack that includes merchant rails (Square), consumer wallet/on-ramp (Cash App), and Bitcoin flows. Their zero fee window offers an opportunity to grow volume and establish habit. AInvest.
Key Questions and Headwinds Adoption Rate. Possessing the capability is one thing; seeing merchants use and customers pay with Bitcoin is quite another. How many of those four million will turn it on and how many transactions will go through Lightning is another matter entirely; although some analysts warn against consumer wallet adoption being barriers in terms of convenience and adoption.
Establishing the balance between Bitcoin and fiat. If merchants immediately convert Bitcoin receipts to fiat, their impact on Bitcoin treasury adoption may be minimal; on the other hand, those holding some Bitcoin could become marginal holders and increase demand.
CryptoSlate Regulation and tax friction. Though payments may be seamless, Bitcoin transactions in many jurisdictions generate capital gains events or reporting obligations that create tax reporting obligations that could limit their use for everyday purchases by consumers.
Infrastructure & Decentralization. At scale, using Lightning may pose routing, channel-liquidity and centralization risks that threaten its ethos of “decentralization”. To be clear: because Bitcoin.
What it Could Mean for Bitcoin & Commerce
Depending on how successful this rollout is, we could experience a ripple effect: more merchants accepting Bitcoin may lead to increased customer demand for paying with it; further infrastructure investment (wallets, apps and settlement) may then lead to stronger network effects which ultimately increase usage while possibly impacting on Bitcoin liquidity and spreads; in this scenario Square could serve as an on-ramp and settlement hub that tightens spreads and improves liquidity within its ecosystem.
From a commerce perspective, this move alters the narrative: payments no longer solely focus on cost, speed and reliability but can also include optionality (settle in Bitcoin/hold Bitcoin). For merchants this may become an advantage while consumers become used to crypto payments.
Conclusion
Square’s introduction of a zero-fee Bitcoin checkout button for its four million merchant network represents not just another payment option – it lays one of the key pieces of infrastructure necessary for cryptocurrency as everyday money. Adoption, regulations and technical robustness will determine if or when widespread adoption occurs; nevertheless, Square may mark this momentous change for both Bitcoin believers and payments watchers alike: the moment when “digital gold” turns into “digital cash”.
