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.
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.
