Now Accepting Bitcoin: Shortwave Coffee Bitcoin Enabled Across 3 States

This story is about Shortwave Coffee bitcoin acceptance and a massive worldwide movement. There are millions of insistent bitcoiners walking up to counters and asking the same four words, “Do you accept bitcoin?”. Half the time we already know the answer is no. We ask anyway, because the look on a cashier’s face when a stranger asks about magic internet money over a $5 latte never gets old.

This year the math shifted in our favor. In March 2026, Square began automatically switching on bitcoin acceptance for up to 4 million terminals, moving the feature from an opt-in tool to a default enrollment. The periodic rollout, though, has felt more like a trickle than a wave. Ask around and you’ll find plenty of Square terminals that haven’t yet received the update. So many of us decided to help accelerate the rollout ourselves: walking into local shops, asking for the manager, and making the case to enable bitcoin payments. This series is going to track those wins, one business at a time.

First up: Shortwave Coffee

When visiting the Saint Louis area, there are an estimated 250 independent coffee shops, and one has gained unwavering loyalty to a few bitcoiners. Why?

Shortwave Coffee started in Missouri, in 2014 as a small, family-run roastery, and it’s since grown to five locations across three states: two in Columbia, one in St. Louis, plus outposts in Minneapolis and a roastery in Tampa. They roast their own beans, pull a genuinely excellent shot of espresso, and the detail that made plebs loyal, they take bitcoin at the register.