Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and chief executive of the payments firm Block, has launched a product aimed at assisting small businesses in accepting and holding bitcoin as an alternative to traditional card payments. The new Square bitcoin wallet will allow US retailers using the company’s sales platform to automatically convert a portion of their daily revenue into bitcoin, with no transaction fees until 2027.
From this week, sellers on Square’s bitcoin network can choose to auto-convert part of their daily card takings into bitcoin. From 10 November, they will also be able to accept bitcoin payments directly and convert up to 50% of daily sales into the cryptocurrency. Block plans to introduce a 1% processing fee per bitcoin transaction starting 1 January 2027. The feature will initially be available only in the United States, excluding New York due to its stricter digital currency regulations.
Dorsey, 48, described the launch as part of his vision for bitcoin as a “hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty”, asserting that the cryptocurrency offers a more transparent and decentralised alternative to fiat currency. “You can say that I want 1% of my incoming revenue to be auto-converted to bitcoin, and you just let it sit there,” Dorsey told investors at a launch event in New York. “It will likely increase in value — it’s certainly a hedge against everything that we’re seeing in the economy.”
Dorsey called bitcoin “inherently deflationary”, citing its finite supply of 21 million tokens and its long-term performance over 16 years. The entrepreneur, who co-founded Twitter in 2006 and supported Elon Musk’s 2022 takeover of the company, has long been a prominent advocate for bitcoin in Silicon Valley. His company Block, formerly known as Square, has invested significantly in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology over the past decade.
The new service also represents an effort to challenge traditional credit card networks, which Dorsey criticised for high transaction fees and limited benefits for merchants. “More and more sellers are getting frustrated with credit card fees for the value they get back,” he said. “Bitcoin is a good alternative because it has a low cost basis and low fees. It offers the convenience of digital payments without the burden of extra charges.”
Miles Suter, head of bitcoin product at Block, stated that the goal was to make bitcoin payments as seamless as card payments, while providing small businesses access to financial tools previously reserved for large corporations. Following the announcement, Block’s shares rose 2.6% to $81.11 in New York.
Founded in 2009, Square started with a simple mobile card reader that enabled small merchants to accept payments via smartphones. It has since evolved into a global fintech platform serving millions of sellers through point-of-sale, banking, and payroll services. Dorsey rebranded Square as Block in 2021 to reflect its focus on digital assets and decentralised finance. The company’s bitcoin business has become a major revenue driver, handling billions in crypto transactions through its Cash App service.
Dorsey has previously expressed his belief that bitcoin could become “the native currency of the internet”, arguing that digital money offers independence from centralised financial systems and inflationary pressures. The latest move to integrate bitcoin into retail payments marks the most direct step yet in that vision, signalling that Dorsey sees cryptocurrency as both a financial tool and a philosophical statement about the future of money.
