Compass Coffee Becomes First Square Seller to Accept Bitcoin
Something remarkable is brewing in Washington, DC — and it’s not just the espresso. Compass Coffee has become the first café to accept Bitcoin payments through Square’s point-of-sale system, marking an HISTORIC step toward everyday Lightning adoption.
Michael Haft, CEO of Compass Coffee invited the local Bitcoin community to visit one of their cafes to kick the tires on the Square terminals but we had no idea we'd be the FIRST IN THE WORLD to pay with Bitcoin. We all knew this was an incredibly important and historic moment in history.
The news definitely made headlines and you can bet that every Bitcoin podcast worth listening to will be mentioning this event!
Today @CompassCoffeeDC became the first @Square seller in the world to accept Bitcoin integrated with the register. Huge thanks to our friends from the @BTCDistrict who stopped by to help us put it through its paces. pic.twitter.com/SI5MdyTznI
— Michael Haft (@realgoodcoffee1) October 15, 2025
Our very own TKay captured a great video of himself ordering a coffee with the Damus wallet, posted it on Nostr and then got a crosspost to X by none other than Bitcoin Product Lead for Block, Inc. Miles Suter. His original Nostr post has earned enough zaps to cover the cost of his coffee and then some.
Legendary coffeehouse with 27 locations @CompassCoffeeDC is showing off Square Bitcoin Payments at DC Fintech week right now.
— Miles 🌞 (@milessuter) October 15, 2025
Tell your senator to go give it a try! pic.twitter.com/AazPN6ljuB
BTC Times wrote an article about the great news and even gave Bitcoin District a shoutout for showing up to help test with a variety of wallets.
Deniz Saat
And here's the story on Bitcoin Magazine...
Micah Zimmerman
This was a truly amazing moment — proof that the future of payments is already here, just waiting to be used. But there’s still work to do. Each seller will need to opt in to accept Bitcoin, so continued outreach and education are key. Progress like this happens one café, one demo, and one conversation at a time.
I launched the Bitcoin District Initiative to help transform Washington, DC into a thriving Bitcoin circular economy. Square’s Lightning rollout is powerful validation of that mission — and we’re ready to build on this momentum by helping every DC business learn to accept Bitcoin. If you'd like to support our mission, check out our initiative to onboard 100 local businesses by 2026!
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