Block Inc (NYSE:SQ) CEO and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has announced a new feature that enables Square merchants to automatically convert a percentage of their daily sales into Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).
What Happened: On Wednesday, Dorsey took to X, formerly Twitter, to announce the new feature, stating, "Square sellers: auto-convert a percent of your daily sales to bitcoin."
This feature, which is rolling out in the U.S. starting today, will transfer 1-10% of Square sellers' daily sales to their personal Cash App account. At the end of the day, this amount will be converted into Bitcoin. Merchants will receive a confirmation of the conversion when the transaction is complete, according to a TechCrunch article shared by Dorsey.
square sellers: auto-convert a percent of your daily sales to bitcoin: pic.twitter.com/Glnt8gc2eC
— jack (@jack) April 24, 2024
According to TechCrunch, Block has stated that the Bitcoin conversion feature will be available to all sole proprietors or single-member LLCs in the coming months. The company will take a 1% cut from every conversion made by the seller. Merchants can send Bitcoin to other wallets or sell them at any time from their Cash App account.
Why It Matters: This move comes as part of Block's ongoing efforts to expand its cryptocurrency offerings. In December 2023, the company launched its self-custody Bitcoin wallet, Bitkey, which is now accessible in over 95 countries. The wallet, available as a mobile app or hardware storage, highlights a two-of-three multi-signature wallet consisting of a mobile key, a hardware key, and a server key.
However, this announcement also comes on the heels of significant layoffs at Block. In January 2024, the company reduced its workforce by 10%, affecting employees across various sectors of the company, including the Cash App, Foundational, and Square sectors. The layoffs were reportedly conducted in a single day to boost efficiency at the financial firm.
Price Action: Block shares closed 1.58% lower at $74.03 in the regular session and declined nearly 1% in the after-hours trading. At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded 3.5% lower at $64,274.16, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Photo by Frederic Legrand – COMEO on Shutterstock