Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong made a provocative statement: Bitcoin never became what Satoshi Nakamoto intended. The idea of digital money for everyday transactions, described in the famous 2008 Whitepaper, was not realized in the first cryptocurrency. Instead, BTC turned into "digital gold"—a store of value tool—while stablecoins took on the function of a payment medium.
As of today, the Bitcoin price is hovering around $64,523, nearly 45% below its all-time high of $126,080 from October 2025. The market is clearly in a correction phase, and this only underscores structural changes in how the asset is perceived. While BTC trades sideways, the supply of stablecoins is hitting absolute records.
Why didn't Bitcoin become a payment method?
Armstrong directly points to a fundamental contradiction in Bitcoin's very nature. Limited issuance and a deflationary model create an incentive to hoard rather than spend. BTC owners are confident in its long-term appreciation, so they prefer to hold the asset rather than use it to pay for coffee. High volatility only reinforces this trend.
Attempts to solve the scaling problem through the Lightning Network, according to the expert, did not lead to mass adoption. The technology remained niche, failing to compete with the simplicity and speed of traditional fiat transactions.
Stablecoins: The true heirs of Satoshi's vision
It is stablecoins, according to Armstrong, that filled the void left by Bitcoin. Dollar-pegged tokens have become a working tool for daily payments, remittances, and DeFi operations. Data from DefiLlama confirms this trend: the total supply of stablecoins has approached $310 billion, of which $184 billion comes from Tether's USDT and $73 billion from Circle's USDC.
A key role in legitimizing this asset class was played by the GENIUS Act, signed by President Trump in July 2025. Legislative recognition in the United States gave stablecoins institutional trust, and a significant portion of their turnover now passes through the Base and Solana networks, ensuring high speed and low fees.
Analytical conclusion
From my perspective, Armstrong is right in his assessment of the market's evolution. Bitcoin fulfilled its historical mission—it created and proved the concept of decentralized money. However, its real value today lies precisely in its status as "digital gold," not as a payment tool. Stablecoins, on the other hand, have become the missing link that connected the world of cryptocurrencies with the real economy. And this is not a problem, but a natural stage of the industry's maturity.