Twitter founder Jack Dorsey recently said the Bitcoin community should focus on scaling payments to stay relevant. “I think (Bitcoin) has to be a payment for daily connection,” he told Haley Barkoo on 21 of the 21 podcast.
I disagree.
As someone on trench with Bitcoin builders who also talk to market makers and investors, I am basically against the idea that payments are the real path to adopting Bitcoin.
The only way to make Bitcoin more relevant is for everyday users to create more features and do something with Bitcoin without sales or sending (i.e. hodling). This is not just about holding BTC on the balance sheet for a good corporate strategy.
Bitcoin is a generational asset. You know that most owners don’t plan to sell, so you need to look into how to keep your chain healthy. As miners’ rewards reduce each half cycle, finding sustainable ways to encourage them will be a major part of the discussion about Bitcoin over the next decade. Activities that expand two to tiers, such as stacks that can bring smart contract functionality to the ecosystem without compromising the basic layer of smart contract functionality, create far more opportunities than simply scaling payments.
Bitcoin established itself as “digital gold” in 2025. This trend does not give itself to the future as a payment instrument. Instead, Bitcoin will join Bitcoin defi, creating a ripe opportunity to make BTC a productive asset.
A recent Binance Research Report states that only about 0.8% of Bitcoin currently used in Defi is only 0.8%. This means that if you can create a clear case for building on Bitcoin, you’ll have a potential value of nearly 1 trillion dollars in the chain.
Bitcoin’s core strengths are security, decentralization, and finite supply. Knowing that, why would someone try to use their BTC as a form of payment? Instead, you can already bridge Bitcoin to L2 and borrow stablecoins via the defi protocol. BTC is now considered generational wealth by most people, so it will be your best collateral. DEFI allows you to use your digital assets as payments while keeping BTC securely on the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin Defi is the most untouched form of collateral, unlocking BTC.
“When he says that if (Bitcoin) fails to be associated with people on a daily basis, I agree with Dorsey. But by allowing people to do more chains through Bitcoin disability, we can increase long-term relevance.
Builders working on platforms that extend Bitcoin’s capabilities to enable loans, borrowing and other financial services without compromising security, are emerging as new leaders in this space. With these L2s, people create savings accounts filled with Bitcoin, earn yields on Bitcoin, and take out loans against Bitcoin.
While Bitcoin is indeed an active asset across the evolving financial ecosystem, it can remain this asset of intergenerational wealth or storage of value against inflation.
The utility is about creating opportunities to do more than buying morning coffee from BTC.
