Jack Dorsey's Square Awarded Patent for Real-Time Crypto-to-Fiat Swaps

Financial services and mobile payment company Square thinks it has found a way to turn fiat into crypto in real-time point-of-sale transactions.

"All cryptocurrencies face the same drawback in that they are not widely accepted. Presently, cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, are not accepted by most retail merchants, or even by most online merchants."

The team cited a number of drawbacks to current crypto spending.

The anonymity of cryptocurrencies exposes merchants to possible criminal activity, like money laundering.

There's also the purely money angle, as the fluctuation of crypto exchange rates poses a financial risk to business owners.

Let's say a consumer purchases that cup of coffee.

Cointelegraph reached out to Square about the technology's possible usage across point-of-sale devices, but a spokesperson declined to confirm a specific pending usage for the newly patented system.

Lightning strikes On Jan. 21, Square announced on its blog the start of a Lightning Development Kit.

The shaky structure of Lightning as is, the blog argues, is just that - shaky.

Improvements would lead to low-fee Bitcoin payments "As common as cash used to be."