Block‘s Square payments platform has moved to automatically enable Bitcoin payments for eligible sellers in the United States, transitioning from an opt-in to an opt-out model. The change, which began rolling out on Monday, affects an estimated 4 million merchants. Co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey, a vocal Bitcoin advocate, confirmed the rollout. The shift is seen as a significant step toward broader mainstream adoption of Bitcoin as a payment method.
According to Miles Suter, Block’s Bitcoin product lead, eligible U.S. Square sellers will have Bitcoin payments automatically activated, with the feature expected to reach all sellers within the coming month. Merchants who accept Bitcoin will receive U.S. dollars as their default settlement currency, with currency conversion handled automatically in the background. Notably, the feature carries zero fees for accepting Bitcoin payments.
Merchants retain full control over the setting and may opt out or adjust their preferences at any time. The automatic enablement marks a strategic departure from the traditional approach of requiring merchants to actively choose cryptocurrency acceptance. By making Bitcoin acceptance a default option rather than an elective one, Square is positioning the feature as a standard part of its payments infrastructure rather than a niche add-on.
Block first introduced Bitcoin payment functionality for all Square sellers last November, following an earlier testing and gradual rollout phase. Prior to Monday’s announcement, Square users were required to manually enable the feature themselves. The latest change removes that friction, effectively broadening the pool of merchants capable of accepting Bitcoin without any deliberate action on their part.
Beyond Square’s payment terminals, Dorsey has steered Block toward several other Bitcoin-focused initiatives. These include enabling Bitcoin buying and selling through Cash App, launching a Bitcoin hardware wallet, and developing a modular Bitcoin mining system. Despite Dorsey’s personal enthusiasm for Bitcoin, Cash App is also moving to support stablecoins, a direction Dorsey has publicly expressed reservations about.
Block has also recently undergone significant internal restructuring, laying off more than 4,000 employees, representing approximately 40% of its total workforce. The company cited a drive toward greater operational efficiency and increased integration of artificial intelligence tools as motivations for the cuts. Block’s stock, trading under the ticker XYZ, was up more than 1% on the day to $56.76 at the time of reporting, though it remains down roughly 11% over the prior month.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
