Bitcoin as Money: Why Usage Still Lags and What Changes It
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Overview
At the recent Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas, Jack Mallers, Strike CEO, and Miles Suter, Bitcoin Product Lead at Block, Inc. and Cash App, are pushing the same idea from different angles: Bitcoin isn’t just something to hold, it has to function as money.
But the reality is more nuanced. Bitcoin already works as money. The constraint isn’t technology, it’s behavior, incentives and infrastructure catching up.
What “Money” Actually Means
Jack starts by reframing the debate entirely:
“Money is uniquely the market good that you don’t consume.”
That definition matters because it strips money down to its core function:
Store value
Transmit value
“The two use cases… are saving and then later exchanging.”
From that lens, Bitcoin already qualifies.
“Bitcoin is perfect money… I can’t eat it… I can’t live in it… it’s a market good.”
The Misunderstanding: Spending ≠ Using
A key misconception gets challenged early.
Bitcoin doesn’t need to be spent to be “used.”
“I don’t know if using money implies you need to spend it.”
Holding is usage and saving is usage. In many cases, it’s the rational behavior.
Why the West Doesn’t Spend Bitcoin
The divergence between regions isn’t accidental.
“Things like Gresham Law are going to naturally play out.”
Better money gets hoarded. Worse money circulates.
In emerging markets → Bitcoin is spent
In developed markets → Bitcoin is saved
At the same time, incentives reinforce this behavior.
“They charge the merchant 3–5% and then share that with the consumer.”
Card networks effectively:
Tax merchants
Subsidize consumers
Result: people choose cards, not Bitcoin.
The Real Constraint: Behavior, Not Tech
Despite years of focus on infrastructure, Jack is clear:
“The challenge is not technology.”
Instead:
“The difficult thing… is actually consumer behavior.”
The system already works. But habits don’t change easily.
Rewards programs lock users in
Payment UX expectations are high
Switching costs are psychological, not technical
The Open Network Thesis
What makes Bitcoin different? Architecture.
Jack frames it through comparison:
Gold = asset only
Bitcoin = asset + network
“Bitcoin is uniquely both… a monetary asset… and a monetary network.”
That unlocks something new:
“I can… throw a gold bar… to Nigeria in less than a second and at no cost.”
This is the real breakthrough:
Instant settlement
Global reach
No intermediaries
Why Payments Still Matter
Miles doesn’t disagree on the complexity, but insists on the importance.
“Payments… feels embedded in the original mission of Bitcoin.”
And more importantly:
“It’s one that’s going to take the longest to achieve.”
This is a long-cycle transition:
Infrastructure
Wallet distribution
Regulation
Culture
All need to align.
“It’s not something… we can do just overnight.”
Solving the “Chicken-and-Egg Problem”
Adoption historically stalled because:
Merchants accept Bitcoin → no users
Users hold Bitcoin → nowhere to spend
The current approach reframes the flow.
“You’ll get the option of paying with your Bitcoin balance or your dollar balance.”
Key shift:
Users can pay in fiat
Bitcoin moves in the background
Merchants receive Bitcoin
“All parties kind of win there.”
“There’s no Visa in the middle… and no transaction fee for the merchant.”
Keeping Bitcoin in Motion
“We need to keep it moving… acting like peer-to-peer electronic cash.”
Even if users don’t consciously spend BTC, the system can still:
Route value through Bitcoin rails
Replace legacy payment networks
Maintain economic activity on-chain
The Bigger Goal: Breaking the Payment Duopoly
Bitcoin introduces:
Open access
Interoperability
Competition at the wallet layer
“Let everyone compete… drive costs down… be innovative.”
The Credit Layer: A Parallel Path
Another important dynamic: borrowing instead of selling.
“If you have access to cheap… dollars… that’s a fine use case.”
This:
Preserves Bitcoin holdings
Enables spending via fiat
Aligns with long-term accumulation
He points out an inconsistency:
“You like when [others] borrow fiat to stack Bitcoin… but not when I borrow… to spend?”
Why Rates Stay High
Even with “perfect collateral,” lending isn’t cheap.
“It doesn’t matter how risk-free… what matters is alternatives.”
Lenders compare against:
Government bonds
Equities
Bitcoin itself
“I could be getting 30%… by owning Bitcoin… why lend it?”
Until Bitcoin integrates deeper into traditional finance:
“We’re just not there yet.”
The Long-Term Stakes
Miles pushes the argument beyond economics into rights.
“Bitcoin is the only truly censorship resistant money.”
And the direction of the world is clear:
More surveillance
More control
Less financial privacy
“If we don’t preserve peer-to-peer digital cash… it’s a right we’re going to lose.”
There’s no real disagreement:
Bitcoin already works as money
Spending isn’t the only form of usage
Payments adoption is inevitable, but slow
The constraint isn’t infrastructure anymore. It’s incentives, habits and time.
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