Block’s bitcoin checkout goes live in Vegas, a significant step in making it ‘everyday money’
A Square-powered bitcoin checkout is now live on the Vegas Strip, where Bitcoin 2025 attendees can scan and pay for merch in seconds using the Lightning Network.
Miles Suter
LAS VEGAS — Jack Dorsey’s latest bitcoin vision is hitting the checkout counter — starting with a merch truck parked just off the casino floor inside The Venetian.
This week at Bitcoin 2025, Square is piloting real-time bitcoin payments, letting attendees scan and spend crypto for T-shirts, hoodies, and hats at the BTC Inc. pop-up store. The system runs on Lightning, which settles transactions off the main blockchain and is faster and cheaper than traditional processing methods.
When customers scan the QR code at checkout, Square handles things behind the scenes, including real-time exchange rates and confirmation.
The Tuesday launch marks the public debut of Block‘s most ambitious move yet to make bitcoin “everyday money” — a pilot that’s expected to expand from the Vegas Strip to millions of merchants around the world.
Behind it all is Miles Suter, a longtime product leader at Block, who flew in early to oversee setup with his team.
Miles Suter, Bitcoin Product Lead at Block, helped oversee setup of the new Square bitcoin checkout — a pilot he calls a “significant milestone” in making bitcoin more accessible and usable.
Miles Suter
Suter joined the company in 2017, when Cash App’s bitcoin integration was still a hackweek experiment.
“They needed someone with deep familiarity with bitcoin and the community,” he said, calling himself “an early evangelist.”
Eight years later, he’s helping “connect the Blocks” — working across Cash App, Spiral, Bitkey, and Square to embed bitcoin into every layer of the company’s ecosystem. The Square rollout, he says, is a natural next step.
Block expects to begin offering bitcoin payments to eligible Square sellers later this year, with full availability targeted for 2026, pending regulatory approval.
The launch comes as bitcoin trades near all-time highs, a surge driven largely by the “digital gold” narrative that positions it as a long-term store of value rather than a day-to-day medium of exchange.
At the same time, stablecoin legislation is advancing in Congress, and more fintech giants are aligning behind tokenized dollars.
Block is taking a different path — one that centers on bitcoin.
Suter said the company’s strategy is rooted in the belief that a decentralized, permissionless currency remains critical to the future of the internet — and that bitcoin is still the best candidate to fill that role.
Asked about the lingering perception that bitcoin is better suited for holding than spending, Suter pointed to a familiar pattern. When Cash App first introduced bitcoin trading, he said, it was met with hesitation and doubt.
“But again, somebody’s got to be first,” he said. “And we feel like we have the right DNA to push things forward.”
Inside The Venetian, Block is testing real-time bitcoin payments at the BTC Inc. pop-up store — the company’s boldest move yet to bring the digital asset to everyday retail.
Miles Suter
He called the new Square rollout “a really significant milestone” in Block’s broader mission to make bitcoin more accessible and usable.
The product builds on Square’s “Bitcoin Conversions” tool, launched last year, which lets merchants automatically convert a portion of their daily sales into bitcoin. Block says it has rolled out the feature to more than 1,000 sellers so far — and those who opted in have seen their bitcoin holdings grow by roughly 70% over the past year.
This latest feature goes a step further, enabling sellers to accept bitcoin directly at the point of sale.
For businesses that don’t want to hold bitcoin, there’s no exposure risk. Payments can be instantly converted to dollars.
“If you just want to have it as another payment method — like Amex, MasterCard, or Visa — bitcoin is now potentially another option for you,” Suter said.
For those that do want to hold it, Block is building out what Suter calls a “Bitcoin for Business” stack — a full suite of tools to accept, convert, manage, and self-custody bitcoin.
“If you do want to accept it as bitcoin,” he said, “we give you a full suite of products to manage that as you see fit. That means being able to convert your daily sales, buy and sell from your U.S. dollar balance into bitcoin, and withdraw to self-custody at any time. It’s about giving our merchants more options and making sure they never miss a sale.”
Jack Dorsey’s Block is piloting bitcoin payments at Bitcoin 2025, turning a merch truck into a live Lightning-enabled checkout experience.
Miles Suter
The announcement comes amid renewed attention on corporate bitcoin strategy, as some publicly traded firms adopt the cryptocurrency as a treasury reserve asset. But Block is targeting a different segment of the market.
“There’s a lot of talk about corporate bitcoin right now,” Suter said. “But like we did on Cash App — which is very much about the little guy and bringing accessibility to everyone — we want small and medium-sized merchants to also be able to get the benefits of bitcoin.”
While Block hasn’t released specific metrics yet, Suter said merchants who participated in the Bitcoin Conversions pilot have all profited. “Every single seller is in the money and has made money based on converting a certain percentage of their daily sales,” he said.
Square’s bitcoin push joins a broader ecosystem at Block that includes Bitkey, its self-custody wallet; Proto, a line of bitcoin mining hardware and software; Spiral, its open-source development arm; and Cash App’s bitcoin trading functionality.
“We’re focused on making bitcoin everyday currency,” Suter said. “We believe that the internet needs a native currency, and that’s where all our focus has been today.”
It’s Labor Day weekend, which means big deals on car lots across America – especially if you’re shopping for a new electric vehicle to help with your labor. We’ve rounded up the best offers on electric pickups, vans, and even a great option for ride share drivers!
Sure, there’s a bit of irony in pitching “work vehicles” on a holiday meant for not working – but for many small business owners, work is part of who they are. And with the $7,500 federal EV tax credit set to expire, plus a wave of great Labor Day deals on work-ready EVs, now might be the best time yet to plug into a new electric ride.
Here are some of the standout electric vehicles offers we found this Labor Day weekend (2025), organized by vehicle type.
Electric pickup | F-150 Lightning
The “Ford for America,” summer sales event continues through Labor Day with interest-free 0% financing, $0 down payment, and zero payments for up to 90 days for retail customers. Ford is also throwing in $0 maintenance for 24 months.
But wait, there’s more! Ford Authority is reporting that a complimentary home charger and standard installation might also be included as part of the Ford Power Promise promotion happening at participating dealers in select markets with the purchase of a new F-150 Lightning pickup through the end of September.
Lease customers aren’t being left out, either. You can lease a 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning XLT 4P 311A pickup at $399 per month for 36 months, with “just” $399 due at signing (basically your first month’s payment).
Electric van | Chevy Brightdrop
The best electric vehicle deal in the business keeps on truckin’ into Labor Day weekend, with new 2025 Brightdrop models currently eligible for up to $21,500 in manufacturer rebates before any Federal, state, local utility, or even Costco membership incentives kick in.
For your money, you get a capable, Ultium-based electric cargo van with more room than your college dorm and a nationwide dealer network to keep it up and running when you need it most.
Electric van (hon. mention) | Mercedes eSprinter
Despite being based on the company’s existing diesel platform, Mercedes’ eSprinter has proven itself a capable urban hauler in the hands of Amazon, DHL, and countless European tradespeople. Despite that, there are still a handful of leftover 2024 models hanging around dealer lots – enough that Mercedes is offering up to $30,000 (!) Customer Cash on any new ’24MY eSprinter purchased from dealer stock.
That discount is enough to bring the price of this 2024 eSprinter in Chicago from $87,823 all the way down to $57,823 this Labor Day weekend – and that’s before you factor in state and local utility incentives that can bring the price down even further.
As you can imagine, there’s some fine print on that Customer Cash deal. It can’t be combined with Special APR programs through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS), but it can be combined with the Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Medium Fleet Program.
Ride share ride | VW ID.4
Ride share drivers looking for comfortable seats, room for five adults and their luggage, proven battery life, and lickety-quick charging speeds can stop looking. Volkswagen is offering a sweet ID.4 lease at nearly half the cost of an entry-level Jetta with payments starting at just $129/mo. – that’s despite the ID.4 carrying a significantly higher MSRP.
And, while we’re at it, it’s probably worth noting that serious road warriors will probably save more than $129/mo. in fuel alone.
If you prefer to own your vehicles after making payments on them for a few years, you can also get 0% interest financing on select ID.4s for up to 72 months. It’s important to note here that Volkswagen’s deals can vary wildly by region. That $129/mo. offer is available in California and a few other West Coast states, for example, but the electric crossover’s listed at $329 for 24 months with $4,499 due at signing in others.
Disclaimer: the vehicle models and financing deals above were sourced from CarsDirect, CarEdge, and (where mentioned) the OEM websites – and were current as of 29AUG2025. These deals may not be available in every market, with every discount, or for every buyer (the standard “with approved credit” fine print should be considered implied). Check with your local dealer(s) for more information.
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Sustainable construction experts McKinstry have teamed up with leading BESS developers Viridi and the Denver Public Library to deploy a first-of-its-kind solar and battery storage system that sets a new standard for fire safety.
The Denver Public Library sought a battery energy storage system (BESS) that could deliver cost savings without compromising safety for staff, visitors, or the architecturally significant, Michael Graves–designed structure itself. That required a battery backup solution that not only met the city’s fire safety standards, but also addressed public fears about the risk of lithium-ion battery fires.
That unique set of project priorities led the library to Viridi, makers of the RPSLinkEX battery solution that’s equipped with a unique, “passive Fail-Safe thermal management and anti-propagation technology” designed to prevent the sort of thermal runaway that leads to li-ion battery fires.
“Public facilities like the Denver Public Library are at the forefront of demonstrating that energy resilience and safety can go hand in hand,” said Jon M. Williams, CEO at Viridi. “This installation highlights how fail-safe battery storage can empower communities to maximize renewable energy, reduce costs, and maintain reliability – all without compromise.”
Keeping it safe
Viridi doesn’t talk too much about how its passive Fail-Safe thermal management system works, but if you’re picturing heat-dissipating layers, fire-resistant insulation, and strategically-placed phase change materials (or PCMs) limiting the transfer of heat from one cell to another if it begins to overheat, you’ve probably cracked it.
These passive safety features enable safer deployment scenarios in occupied buildings or near critical infrastructure by reducing dependence on active fire suppression systems like sprinklers or fire extinguishers, and convinced the City of Denver to move forward with the project, which is the city’s first-ever solar + battery storage system.
“The entire McKinstry team is very excited about developing and constructing the first Solar + BESS project for the City and County of Denver,” said Jon Ensley, Sr. Construction Project Engineer at McKinstry. “We are appreciative of all our partners and stakeholders who helped to achieve this goal. We value Viridi’s expertise in deploying this technology and the whole team has been great to work with.”
McKinstry says this latest solar project sets, “a new benchmark for how cities can combine renewable energy and battery storage without compromising safety.” And, with solutions like the RPSLinkEX building systems that meet city planners and politicians where they are, instead of trying to educated them about the objective, proven safety of li-ion batteries, Viridi is helping communities adopt cleaner, more resilient clean energy solutions sooner rather than later.
READ MORE
SOURCE | IMAGES: Viridi, via PV Magazine; Michael Graves.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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China’s Dongfang Electric has installed a 26-megawatt offshore wind turbine, snatching the title of world’s most powerful from Siemens Gamesa’s 21.5 turbine in Denmark.
The Chinese state-owned manufacturer announced today that it has installed the world’s most powerful wind turbine prototype at a testing and certification base. This turbine, the world’s largest for capacity and size, boasts a blade wheel diameter of more than 310 meters (1,107 feet) and a hub height of 185 meters (607 feet). Dongfang shipped the turbine’s nacelle earlier this month – the world’s heaviest – along with three blades.
This offshore wind turbine is designed for areas with wind speeds of 8 meters per second and above. With average winds of 10 meters per second, just one of these giants can generate 100 GWh of power annually, which is enough to power 55,000 homes. That’s enough to cut standard coal consumption by 30,000 tons and reduce CO2 emissions by 80,000 tons. Dongfang says it’s wind resistant up to 17 (200 km/h) on the extended Beaufort scale.
In May, Dongfang said it had completed static load testing on the turbine’s blades, and the turbine is now undergoing fatigue testing, which could take up to a year before the turbine is fully certified.
Read more: Trump just killed all offshore wind zones as US power needs surge
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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