Dorsey's Block stock climbs to 8-month high as Square adds fee-free bitcoin payments for merchants

Square, Block's merchant payments arm, is rolling out an integrated bitcoin solution that lets businesses accept, hold, and convert the cryptocurrency directly from their point-of-sale systems.

Merchants won’t pay fees on bitcoin transactions until 2027, when Square plans to introduce a 1% charge.

Square is also adding a bitcoin wallet for merchants, allowing them to buy, sell, hold, or withdraw the cryptocurrency from their dashboards. Businesses that opt in can now automatically convert up to half of their daily revenue into bitcoin, compared with a previous cap of 10%.

Square said merchants using the program have so far converted 142 bitcoin, worth nearly $17.5 million at current prices, according to a TechCrunch report.

"Bitcoin payments should be as seamless as card payments," said Miles Suter, Block's head of bitcoin product, adding that the tools will help small businesses access financial capabilities typically reserved for large corporations.

The rollout bolsters Block co-founder Jack Dorsey's long-running push to make bitcoin "everyday money" rather than just a speculative asset.

Bitcoin’s role in commerce is still limited, but usage is expected to expand. Research firm eMarketer projects that the number of U.S. consumers using crypto for payments will grow by 82% between 2024 and 2026.

Other surveys paint a more cautious picture. Recent Kansas City Federal Reserve data shows fewer than 2% of Americans used crypto for payments in 2024, down from nearly 3% two years earlier. Still, the Kansas City Fed noted that recently passed stablecoin legislation could alter adoption trends in the years ahead.

Block shares (ticker XYZ) rose 2.5% to $81, their highest level since February.