BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, has stated that the majority of the firm’s clients are not investing in Bitcoin for its potential as a global payments network:
“I think for us, and most of our clients today, they’re not really underwriting to that global payment network case. That’s sort of maybe out-of-the-money-option-value upside.”
Focus remains on ‘digital gold’
Mitchnick emphasized that while Bitcoin may one day be widely used for daily payments, most investors are currently attracted by its “digital gold” or store-of-value properties.
He called the payments use case “a little bit more speculative”:
“There’s a lot that needs to happen in terms of Bitcoin scaling, Lightning, and otherwise to make that possible.”
The challenge of scaling Bitcoin for mass payments has been highlighted by research suggesting that many popular layer-2 networks, such as rollups, may lack long-term sustainability.
The Lightning Network and other solutions remain under development.
Stablecoins achieve product-market fit
Mitchnick noted that stablecoins have been “hugely successful” in the payments sector, saying they:
“Have massive product market fit as a payment instrument as a way of moving value around efficiently.”
He added that stablecoins are expanding beyond trading and into remittances, corporate payments, and capital market settlement.
He acknowledged that Bitcoin could better compete in retail remittance payments, but cautioned that this is still a “more speculative thing to underwrite at this point.”
Looking ahead: all money as stablecoins?
Tether co-founder Reeve Collins has predicted that “all currency” could become stablecoins by 2030 as finance moves onchain, reflecting the sector’s accelerating transformation.
