Compass Coffee, a popular café chain in Washington, D.C., has made history as the first merchant worldwide to accept Bitcoin payments through a standard Square point-of-sale terminal. The initiative tested Lightning Network payments in a real-world retail environment.
During DC Fintech Week, customers were able to pay instantly with Bitcoin using the Lightning Network. Michael Haft, CEO and co-founder of Compass Coffee, shared on X:
“We tested Lightning payments using 10 different wallets — fast, reliable, and honestly quite fun. All transactions processed instantly.”
This pilot marks the first practical use of Square’s new Bitcoin payment system, developed by its parent company, Block, led by Jack Dorsey. Square plans a global rollout starting 10 November, enabling merchants to accept Bitcoin and convert up to 50% of daily sales to cryptocurrency without processing fees for the first year.
Miles Suter, Head of Bitcoin Products at Block, stated:
“We aim to make Bitcoin payments as seamless as card payments, while giving small businesses access to financial tools previously reserved for large corporations.”
Industry experts hail this as a breakthrough for crypto payments. Pranav Agarwal, independent director at Jetking Infotrain India, noted:
“Lightning Network has revolutionized point-of-sale payments, opening a new era for Bitcoin adoption in retail.”
Traditional card payments involve multiple intermediaries, whereas Bitcoin payments can operate with just one—Square—offering potential benefits like loyalty programs, cashback, or lower costs, as merchants avoid high processing fees.
Despite the technological leap, regulatory hurdles remain. Jack Dorsey has recently advocated for exempting small Bitcoin transactions from federal taxes, continuing a legislative effort that previously stalled in Congress.
Iz Ng, Product Lead at UR, emphasized that speed is only one part of the equation:
“Compass Coffee’s demo shows how far DeFi technology has come, but true parity requires more than just speed. Adoption will follow when crypto payments feel as seamless as any other contactless method, without friction or uncertainty.”
This event signals a significant step toward mainstream Bitcoin adoption in everyday commerce, following similar initiatives such as Vanadi Coffee’s $1.2 billion Bitcoin reserve in Spain.
