Living on Bitcoin

Satoshi didn't write code so that Wall Street could build ETFs. He built Bitcoin so the entire world could operate on a freer, fairer financial system.

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At Block, one of our company missions is to make Bitcoin everyday money. In June, I'll hit nine years working on this single mission here. In some ways, I can't believe we've made it this far already. In other ways, there's still so much more work to do. Because if Bitcoin doesn't win and some centralized alternative takes its place, that's on all of us.

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Today, I want to show you how Block supports the entire Bitcoin ecosystem, and how across the entire company we're working together to make Bitcoin as everyday money a real thing. To make living on Bitcoin a reality.

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This can happen when Bitcoin has velocity, when it fits into how people earn, save, and spend, not when it sits still. Last year, I stood on this stage and promised you we'd get Square Bitcoin payments live by the end of the year. To be honest, we hadn't even started building it yet. But by November, we had it running across merchants nationwide. It was a historic day in November, but it was just the beginning. There's a ton more work to do to connect all of the dots.

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This year, we're showing what living on Bitcoin actually looks like. Not theory, real usage. Across Block, we're focused on a few simple ideas that comprise what it means to live on Bitcoin: to spend it, use it, secure it, and live with it.

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But why use it? Because if Bitcoin doesn't function as peer-to-peer electronic cash, if it just sits on balance sheets, it loses the quality that makes it transformational: the ability to transact freely without permission, without a gatekeeper.

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And if we don't act now, the approaching all-encompassing digital age will take away this ancient concept of cash. If we let that happen, it's something we'll never get back. Really think about that. For me, that's incredibly dangerous for human freedom around the world.

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The work to make this happen is a long journey: changing habits, building tools, and making Bitcoin easier and easier year after year. That's what we've been doing since I first got here and what we'll keep doing.

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So where are we? A couple weeks ago, we announced Bitcoin payments auto-enrollment for eligible businesses, which means we're turning on Bitcoin payments seamlessly in the background without the merchant having to even know what Bitcoin is. When they get paid, it's converted to fiat into their normal account. For them, it's just like a card payment, but with no processing fee in the middle.

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Today, we have over 800,000 payments-enabled businesses, turning a new one on every eight seconds. We're intentionally taking this slowly to do it deliberately and correctly. This is a long game, and our holistic strategy spans many years. But as you'll see in this presentation, many of the key puzzle pieces are coming into place. Are we at the end yet? Of course not. But compared to where we were less than one year ago, things are humming, and the momentum is real.

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We launched Bitcoin Map to show our nearly 60 million monthly active users on Cash App exactly where they can find Bitcoin-enabled merchants in their area. And for merchants on the map, their Bitcoin payment count is nearly 500% higher than if you're not on the map.

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One of the biggest pieces of feedback we've heard is, what if your barista doesn't even know what Bitcoin is? Now they don't have to. The Bitcoin toggle on the customer-facing display means you choose how to pay. It's user-driven, no awkward conversation. You see the toggle, you can pay in Bitcoin.

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This is good for everyone. The merchant pays 0% processing, the network gets velocity, and you get 5% back in Bitcoin automatically through the rest of the year when you pay using Cash App. You can try it at the conference today. It's seamless and amazing.

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And you don't even have to spend your actual stack. Our new feature, Dollars on Lightning, lets you pay with your dollar balance, and it's settled over Lightning. No taxable event, and your Bitcoin balance stays untouched. You're just using this new monetary network to save on fees and really help the ecosystem.

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We're seeing pretty insane adoption of this already. Eventually, I think this is a primitive that will become important for our non-Bitcoin customers as well, just seamlessly behind the scenes. More to come there.

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Today, we're also excited to premiere another step forward toward ubiquitous Bitcoin payments: tap to pay. Changing user behavior is going to be one of the hardest parts of this journey of making Bitcoin everyday money. Thankfully, we're in a position to lead that charge because we own both sides of the counter. With tap to pay, we're on our way to making Bitcoin payments feel as seamless as Apple Pay.

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All of this is being built on an open standard. So other apps, like Wallet of Satoshi, some Cashu wallets already using this, and Phoenix, they'll all work at the terminals as well, because it's open systems for the win. We want to keep setting the bar for everyday usage.

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We're also playing around with proximity payments. Here's a glimpse of where this is going. You can imagine a world where you don't even need NFC, where you can just send Bitcoin directly to nearby people or merchants.

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So that's spending. What about the earning side? Cash App is a complete place to build your financial life on Bitcoin. Every way money moves into Cash App, we want customers to be able to automatically turn it into Bitcoin for free and instantly.

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We want Cash App Bitcoin 2.0 to become a Bitcoin black hole for customers. You get paid from a friend, or you win your work World Cup pool. It can automatically convert into Bitcoin with no fees or spread. You don't even have to think about it.

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Starting today, on one of the largest peer-to-peer networks in the U.S., anyone can set a percentage to auto-convert incoming payments into Bitcoin. Every time someone sends you a payment, whatever percentage you choose converts instantly, and it allows you to never miss a stacking moment ever again. For me, it's cranked up to 100, obviously.

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We already do this for direct deposit conversion, roundups from your card spend, and auto-invest on your set schedule, all zero fee, zero spread. So if you want to live on a Bitcoin standard, there's no better option.

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And for everyone on Twitter, I just want to let you know, I hear you. Outbound ACH, I get pinged on this about every single day. It's a key part of living on a Bitcoin standard, and that's something we're working on as well.

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But we're also investing at the protocol layer. Human-readable Bitcoin addresses and BIP-353 open up some super interesting opportunities, both for merchants as an always-on tipping option and, more importantly, on Cash App, where it can allow us to seamlessly blend Bitcoin and fiat for our normie customers as well, deeply in the background. More on this in the future, but those that get it can see where this is going.

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And the last quick note on Cash App: we recently introduced literally free Bitcoin buys for any amount over $2,000. So come for the savings, stay for the ecosystem.

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But spending and earning aren't enough if you don't control your own keys. That's the whole point of Bitcoin. So we built a hardware wallet to onboard the next tens of millions to self custody. And then we made it even better.

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Meet the new Bitkey. Now with 100% more screen. It's so intuitive, your grandma can use it, which is the whole point: combining robust security with seamless recovery alongside a simple customer experience that puts you in control of your own money. People wanted the screen, and when our customers speak, we listen. These are on sale here today as well. Go check it out. It's awesome.

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In the near future, this ecosystem connectivity will really feel effortless. You can get your paycheck sent into Cash App, convert it with zero fees and zero spread, and have it automatically withdrawn to self custody in one action. It's Bitcoin bliss.

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We think about Bitcoin as an ecosystem, both internally and for the entire industry. This is where our position is truly unique. No other company can span spending, earning, self custody, infrastructure, and open source the way we do.

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But all of this only works if the system stays open. So we continue to invest in open source development and infrastructure, because Bitcoin only works if no single company controls it. Spiral funds open source Bitcoin development with no strings attached, and its impact on the industry has been profound.

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On the other hand, we also have Proto, which is focused on decentralizing and strengthening the mining network. Because if mining centralizes, the entire system can break. Our mining rig shifts us away from disposable, single-use hardware to rigs that are durable, repairable, and upgradeable. Both of these initiatives are instances of us continuing to take the long view.

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Today, we're also proud to announce that we've launched proof of reserves, so customers can verify the total amount of Bitcoin we custody across Cash App, Square, and Block. Name another company with both public financial audits and on-chain proof of reserves. As far as I know, we're the only ones, because we don't want you to trust us. We want you to verify us.

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Most of us agree Bitcoin is the best form of money ever created. At the same time, we're living smack in the middle of this AI revolution. The question becomes, how are these two paradigm shifts going to operate together?

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Software is starting to manage money. These systems will choose the best tools available, and open systems will choose open money, and that's Bitcoin. Across Block, we're building AI that works with Bitcoin, and we're building AI that works for you, and never over you.

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We're moving toward systems that are actively managing your financial life, proactive systems that work on your behalf. On the Square side, we've recently introduced Manager Bot. Think of it as your personal CFO inside your Square account.

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You've accumulated $10,000 of Bitcoin from sales. Want to move it to self custody with Bitkey? Or payroll is in five days, and your dollar balance is a little tight. Want me to convert some Bitcoin? No, we're probably going to make it. It's a true game changer for small businesses.

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On the Cash App side, Money Bot does the same for personal finances. You've been buying Bitcoin manually every week. Want me to automate that so you can DCA with no fees? Last month, if you had converted 25% of your paycheck into Bitcoin, you'd have 500 additional dollars right now. Let me know if you want me to set that up.

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With Block's AI systems, Bitcoin becomes part of how the entire system optimizes your entire financial life, proactively and in the background.

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We're also committed to continuing to build in the open. That's why we'll be rolling out a public Bitcoin roadmap across our ecosystem. That means building in public across Square, Cash App, Bitkey, and Proto. You can follow and influence what ships next.

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This is a long mission. We're trying to change deeply ingrained habits: how people think about money, how they move it, how they protect it. This doesn't happen overnight. It happens payment by payment, brick by brick, and block by block.

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At Block, we're putting Bitcoin into the background of everyday life so it just works. We're not fully there, but we're getting closer every single day. And what's crazy about today, showing all this progress, I can't even mention the five things I'm most excited about yet.

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In my nine years here, it's never been a more exciting time for us or for Bitcoin. So I can't wait to tell you about what's next when I can. But for now, it's back to building. Thank you so much.