You can buy, sell, and transfer bitcoin directly inside Cash App once you verify your identity. The entire setup takes just a few minutes if you have your personal information ready. Here’s how to get started and what to expect for fees, limits, and withdrawals.
Verify Your Identity First
Cash App requires identity verification before you can access bitcoin features. You must be at least 18 years old. When you first attempt to buy bitcoin, the app will prompt you to provide your full name, date of birth, and address. Depending on your verification level, you may also need to supply your Social Security number and a photo of a government-issued ID.
Basic verification is usually instant, but additional identity checks can take a day or two. Until verification is complete, the bitcoin option will remain locked.
How to Buy Bitcoin
Once verified, buying bitcoin takes about 30 seconds:
- Open Cash App and tap “USD” on your home screen to toggle over to BTC.
- Select “Bitcoin.”
- Enter the dollar amount you want to spend.
- Review the price, fee, and total on the confirmation screen.
- Tap “Confirm” to complete the purchase.
Your bitcoin balance appears on the same home screen. You can buy with funds already in your Cash App balance or pull directly from a linked debit card or bank account.
Fees and Spreads
Cash App charges a percentage-based fee on every market buy or sell. The rate drops as your transaction size increases:
- $1 to $499: 2.0%
- $500 to $999: 1.5%
- $1,000 to $1,999: 0.9%
- $2,000 and above: 0%
On top of the fee, Cash App may apply a spread of up to 0.75% on the quoted bitcoin price. A spread is the difference between the market price and the price you actually pay, and it fluctuates with market conditions. Both the fee and the spread are rolled into the total shown on the confirmation screen before you tap “Confirm,” so you’ll always see exactly what you’re paying.
For a $100 purchase, expect to pay roughly $2 in fees plus a small spread, putting your all-in cost around $2 to $2.75. At $2,000 or more, the trading fee drops to zero, though the spread may still apply.
Withdrawing Bitcoin to an External Wallet
Cash App lets you send your bitcoin to any external wallet, which is useful if you want to move it to a hardware wallet or another exchange. Here’s the process:
- Toggle from USD to BTC on your home screen.
- Select “Bitcoin.”
- Enter the amount you want to withdraw (in BTC or USD).
- Tap the QR code scanner in the top left corner, or tap “Send” and paste the external wallet address manually.
- Confirm the wallet address.
- Tap “Next.”
- Select a withdrawal speed.
- Confirm.
You’ll choose between three speed options. Standard withdrawals require a minimum of 0.001 BTC. Rush and Priority withdrawals, which process faster and cost more in network fees, have a much lower minimum of 0.00005 BTC. Network fees vary based on how congested the Bitcoin blockchain is at the time.
Sending and Receiving With Lightning
Cash App supports the Lightning Network, a layer built on top of Bitcoin that processes transactions almost instantly and with very low fees. It’s ideal for smaller, everyday payments rather than large transfers.
To send bitcoin over Lightning, tap the QR scanner on your home screen and hold your camera over a Lightning invoice QR code. Choose your funding source, confirm the amount, and the payment goes through in seconds. To receive bitcoin over Lightning, go to the Money tab, tap the Bitcoin tile, tap the arrows, and select “Receive bitcoin.” You can set an amount, then share or display your QR code. The sender doesn’t need Cash App; any Lightning-enabled wallet works. Payment requests expire after 72 hours and can only be used once.
Lightning transactions are capped at $999 in bitcoin per rolling seven-day window for both sending and receiving. If you hit the limit, Cash App automatically routes payments through the standard Bitcoin network instead. All QR code transactions default to Lightning unless you’ve reached your limit or manually choose the on-chain network.
Tax Documents for Bitcoin Activity
Every bitcoin sale you make through Cash App is a taxable event. If you sell bitcoin or use your bitcoin balance to pay a Square merchant via Lightning during a calendar year, Cash App will generate an IRS Form 1099-DA by February 15 of the following year. This form reports your proceeds and helps you calculate any capital gains or losses when you file your taxes.
To find your tax documents, tap your profile icon, select “Documents,” then “Bitcoin,” and choose the 1099-DA. You can also download it from a desktop browser at cash.app/account/documents/bitcoin. For a full record of every transaction, download the Transactions CSV from the same Documents section. This spreadsheet lists each buy, sell, and transfer with dates and amounts, which is helpful for your own recordkeeping or for sharing with a tax preparer.