Block Inc.’s payments subsidiary Square on 22 July began enabling merchants to accept native Bitcoin transactions, using the digital currency’s Lightning Network for faster, low-cost settlements. The rollout starts with an initial group of sellers but is ultimately available to Square’s full base of roughly 4 million merchants, according to information provided by the company. The move deepens Square’s long-running bet on cryptocurrency championed by Block co-founder Jack Dorsey, the former chief executive of Twitter. By integrating Lightning, Square aims to reduce transaction fees and processing times compared with traditional card networks, potentially widening appeal for Bitcoin-denominated payments among small businesses.