Jack Dorsey’s fintech firm, Block, recently announced that it was integrating a new feature for Square merchants that would allow them to allocate a portion of their daily sales to Bitcoin, with on-demand payouts via CashApp.
Qualified merchants in the U.S. can currently allocate between 1% and 10% of their daily sales to Bitcoin (BTC). According to a TechCrunch article, the fiat funds are collected until the end of the day, at which point they’re converted to Bitcoin and deposited into the user’s Cash App account. Merchants will be required to pay a 1% fee on each conversion.
In a statement, Square said this move will empower small businesses and individual proprietors to participate in the global financial economy:
“Block believes that bitcoin is an instrument of economic empowerment and provides a way for people around the world, including business owners, to participate in a global monetary system. According to direct feedback from Square sellers, many are interested in bitcoin and believe it presents a wide range of use cases, such as long-term savings and diversifying their businesses’ holdings.”
The integration was announced just a day after Block signaled its intent to build a full-scale Bitcoin mining solution.
As Cointelegraph recently reported, Block is diving into the mining scene headfirst after having recently completed the development of a proprietary three-nanometer chip for the purpose of mining Bitcoin. By way of unveiling the news, Dorsey posted “We’re building a mining rig” on the X social media platform.
Block’s sudden drive into the Bitcoin ecosystem is likely related to its exceptional BTC profits from the fourth quarter of 2023. Cash App alone generated $66 million in Bitcoin gross profits, up 90% over 2022.
The expansion into Bitcoin services also follows Dorsey’s commitment for Cash App “to become one of the top providers of banking services to households in the United States which earn up to $150,000 per year.”
Related: Boomers to pour $300B into crypto markets — Morgan Creek Capital
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