Cash App Now Supports Stablecoins, Despite Bitcoin Maxi Jack Dorsey's 'Gatekeeper' Gripes

In brief

• Cash App has introduced fee-free USDC stablecoin transactions across Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and Arbitrum.
• Unlike Venmo, Cash App automatically converts incoming stablecoins into standard U.S. dollar balances.
• The rollout introduces broader multi-chain utility to Block's payments ecosystem, which has previously focused on Bitcoin.

Cash App has begun supporting stablecoin transactions on networks including Ethereum and Solana, a major crypto milestone for the popular payments platform previously dedicated to Bitcoin under maximalist Jack Dorsey.

In addition to the aforementioned blockchains, Cash App users have the ability to send and receive Circle’s USDC on Ethereum scaling networks Polygon and Arbitrum. There are currently no fees involved in such transfers, according to the payments platform’s website.

Unlike some competitors, stablecoins received by Cash App users are automatically converted into dollars, represented as standard balances. Currently, PayPal’s Venmo records users’ holdings of its PYUSD stablecoin alongside other digital assets under a crypto tab.

Cash App’s website notes that stablecoins aren’t available yet for customers in New York, and users must verify their identity while being subject to transaction limits. The caveats reflect Block’s cautious approach to navigating an environment that faces growing competition following the passage of federal legislation for stablecoins last year.

Under Dorsey, who is among Bitcoin’s most visible and outspoken advocates, Block has poured resources into the development of mining hardware and BitKey, a self-custodial wallet. Those moves have aligned with his longstanding goal of promoting Bitcoin as “everyday money.”

Dorsey critiqued stablecoins earlier this year as shifting “from one gatekeeper to another,” while acquiescing that the technology has seen growing demand from customers. He has long prized Bitcoin as an open protocol for money transmission.

In March, Block-owned payments processor Square flipped a switch that enabled Bitcoin payments by default for U.S. sellers. Previously, the model was opt-in, offering instant settlement via Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. When the service debuted in November, merchants were granted the ability to automatically convert card sales into Bitcoin as well.

That month, Cash App unveiled stablecoin payments, billing the expansion as a way for customers to make fast, low-cost payments regardless of their network of choice. At the time, Block Bitcoin Product Lead Miles Suter described stablecoins as a “complementary option for our customers,” declaring that Cash App will always be Bitcoin-first by design.

Block shares changed hands around $71.55 on Wednesday, rising nearly 3.5% midday, according to Yahoo Finance. The company’s stock price has rallied nearly 10% year-to-date. Over the same period, Bitcoin’s price has declined over 14% to $74,800, according to CoinGecko.

As of March 31, Block held 9,032 Bitcoin worth $675 million on its balance sheet for investment purposes. That makes the company the 14th largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, according to Bitcoin Treasures, situated behind the estimated holdings of Trump Media & Technology Group.

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