Key Factors
- Washington D.C.-based espresso chain Compass Espresso is testing Bitcoin funds at its shops, permitting prospects to pay in BTC through the Lightning Community on Sq..
- The service offered by Jack Dorsey’s Sq. (Block Inc.) permits retailers to just accept Bitcoin funds by means of a point-of-sale system, convert a portion of their gross sales income into the cryptocurrency, and handle their holdings on a pockets – all from a single dashboard.
- The Sq. Bitcoin POS terminal can be rolled out to all Sq. retailers on November 10, with zero processing charges on funds and conversions for the primary 12 months.
Compass Espresso, a well-liked espresso chain working in 27 places throughout america’ capital, Washington D.C., turned the primary service provider on the planet to just accept BTC funds by means of Sq.’s Bitcoin point-of-sale (POS) terminal.
The service supplied beneath Sq.’s new Bitcoin cost integration program was showcased throughout the DC Fintech Week, the place guests have been allowed to pay for his or her espresso in BTC over the Lightning Community. The funds have been processed on a white touchscreen register system from Sq. that’s utilized by tens of millions of small companies nationwide.
Compass Espresso to Settle for Bitcoin Funds on Lightning Community From November 10
Compass Espresso co-founder and CEO Michael Haft mentioned they examined Bitcoin Lightning funds from 10 totally different wallets, and “all went by means of immediately,“ calling it “quick, dependable, and actually fairly enjoyable”.
Legendary coffeehouse with 27 places @CompassCoffeeDC is exhibiting off Sq. Bitcoin Funds at DC Fintech week proper now.
Inform your senator to go give it a strive! pic.twitter.com/AazPN6ljuB
— Miles 🌞 (@milessuter) October 15, 2025
The beloved D.C. espresso chain demonstrated the characteristic to lawmakers and fintech leaders who attended the summit.
This pilot marked the primary real-world deployment of the Sq. Bitcoin cost system, unveiled by Block Inc., a fintech co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The corporate’s product portfolio contains Sq., a POS system that permits companies to just accept card and crypto funds, handle stock, payroll, e-commerce, and entry enterprise financing; the favored digital pockets platform Money App; buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service Afterpay; and music streaming service Tidal.
Sq. Bitcoin is a funds platform that gives a set of instruments designed to make Bitcoin usable for on a regular basis enterprise transactions. The service permits retailers and small companies to just accept BTC funds, robotically convert a portion of their gross sales into BTC, and handle their holdings in a built-in Bitcoin pockets – all of that are accessible from the identical dashboard used for point-of-sale and banking.
Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. Goals to Make Bitcoin as Seamless as Card Funds for On a regular basis Transactions
Miles Suter, head of Bitcoin product at Block, mentioned the corporate goals to make Bitcoin funds “as seamless as card funds”, whereas giving small companies entry to monetary administration instruments that have been beforehand solely out there to giant firms.
Sq. Bitcoin can be rolled out to Sq. retailers beginning November 10, with no processing charges for funds and the conversion of as much as 50% of each day gross sales income into BTC throughout the first yr, simplifying what has lengthy been a fancy course of for companies.
With the corporate integrating Bitcoin straight into its ecosystem, sellers will now not require an exterior pockets or use third-party apps to carry BTC on their steadiness sheets or immediately convert it to U.S. {dollars}. This might decrease the prices and pace up settlements for retailers, who’re sometimes depending on cost networks resembling Visa, Mastercard, Google Pay, or Apple Pay.
Pranav Agarwal, director at Indian Bitcoin treasury agency JetKing, instructed crypto media outlet Decrypt that utilizing Bitcoin for funds was laid out in Satoshi Nakamoto’s unique whitepaper and is “intrinsic” to its positioning as a peer-to-peer digital money system. Till the introduction of the Lightning Community, its adoption was marred by gradual block affirmation occasions, which have since modified as cost techniques can now settle for BTC at POS at scale, bringing in a brand new period of Bitcoin adoption.
A typical card cost includes an issuer financial institution, receiver financial institution, and card rails, whereas Bitcoin funds are self-custodial, with only a single enabler platform like Sq.. He famous that this facility might unlock new worth for BTC by means of loyalty packages, cashbacks, or decrease costs, as sellers now not have to soak up excessive interchange charges.
Bitcoin is Turning into a Robust Various to Conventional Cost Rails within the US
Bitcoin funds are gaining reputation throughout america. In Could, the favored Illinois-based quick meals chain Steak ‘n Shake started accepting BTC in any respect places nationwide, utilizing the Lightning Community through QR codes on kiosks and POS terminals. The transfer boosted gross sales by roughly 11% in Q2 2025, helped lower the corporate’s processing prices in half, and drove each day buyer visits.
Regardless of a breakthrough in establishing Bitcoin as a robust different to conventional cost rails, regulatory hurdles stay. Jack Dorsey has referred to as for exempting federal tax on small bitcoin funds, urging lawmakers to revive a reconciliation invoice by Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) that didn’t advance in July.
On the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is buying and selling at $111,595 – down 0.3% in 24 hours.
