Bitcoin’s Global Payment Use Still “Speculative”

BlackRock’s Mitchnick: Bitcoin’s Global Payment Use Still “Speculative”

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: November 24, 2025

Key Takeaways

BlackRock’s Robbie Mitchnick said most clients see Bitcoin as a store of value, not a tool for daily payments;
He noted Bitcoin could be used for payments in the future, but it still needs major technical improvements;
Mitchnick highlighted that stablecoins already work well for payments and could expand into global money transfers.

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Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, explained that most of the firm’s clients are not thinking about using Bitcoin BTC $86,062.37 for everyday payments when they invest in it.

Mitchnick said during a podcast on YouTube, "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".

He did not rule out the possibility that Bitcoin could one day be widely used for payments, but he said that possibility remains uncertain. For now, investors are more focused on Bitcoin’s role as "digital gold".

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He also stated in the podcast:

There’s a lot that needs to happen in terms of Bitcoin scaling, Lightning, and otherwise to make that possible.

In August 2024, Galaxy Research raised doubts about the long-term sustainability of Bitcoin’s Layer-2 scaling networks, especially "rollups".

Mitchnick contrasted this with the progress of stablecoins, which he said have already proven successful for payments.

He explained that stablecoins could be used in many more areas. At present, they are mainly used in cryptocurrency trading and decentralized finance (DeFi).

However, he said they could also be used for everyday money transfers, business payments between companies, international transactions, and settling financial trades.

While he noted that Bitcoin might find some use in smaller-scale payment applications, such as remittances, he sees that as a longer-term, uncertain development.

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