Bitcoin Bull David Marcus Says BTC Won’t Be a Common Payment Method
In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Bitcoin bull and CEO of Lightspark, David Marcus, expressed his belief that Bitcoin will not become a popular or common payment method. Despite being a co-founder of PayPal and working on Bitcoin’s lightning network, Marcus sees Bitcoin as a store of value rather than a currency for everyday transactions. He is placing his bets on the lightning network, a layer-2 scaling solution built on top of Bitcoin, which aims to make transactions faster and cheaper. Marcus envisions lightning becoming a “universal protocol for money on the internet,” where users can send and receive any currency they want, while lightning serves as the settlement layer in between.
Lightning Network: Enabling Faster and Cheaper Bitcoin Transactions
The lightning network is a layer-2 scaling solution designed to improve the practicality of Bitcoin for small payments. It processes BTC transactions separately before settling them on the main Bitcoin blockchain, making transactions faster and cheaper. Marcus sees lightning as a solution that can turn Bitcoin into a store of value rather than a currency for everyday transactions. He compares lightning to a small data packet on the internet, allowing users to send and receive any currency they prefer, while lightning acts as the settlement layer in between. Marcus aims to establish lightning as a universal protocol for money on the internet, similar to how texting is a universal protocol for communication.
Lightspark: Building on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network
David Marcus currently serves as the CEO of Lightspark, a company focusing on building on Bitcoin’s lightning network. Lightspark aims to leverage the lightning network to enable faster, cheaper, and more practical transactions. Marcus believes that lightning has the potential to revolutionize global payments, making it a universal protocol for money on the internet. Lightspark’s goal is to facilitate the transfer of various fiat currencies over the lightning network, allowing users to send and receive any currency they desire. By utilizing lightning as a settlement layer, the company aims to create a real-time, low-cost, and cash final payment solution for users worldwide. Marcus envisions lightning as the future of global payments and is committed to advancing its adoption.
Lightning Network and Strike: Cheaper Global Currency Transfers
Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, shares David Marcus’s vision of using the lightning network for cheaper global currency transfers. Strike’s wallet app enables lightning-based remittances to 65 countries, allowing users to receive transactions as local currency within their bank accounts. By leveraging the lightning network, Strike aims to make cross-border transactions more affordable and accessible, particularly in countries like Argentina, Nigeria, and Ghana. The lightning network’s scalability and efficiency have made it an attractive solution for companies like Lightspark and Strike, who see its potential to revolutionize the way we transact and transfer money globally.
Hot Take: Bitcoin as a Store of Value vs. Everyday Currency
David Marcus’s belief that Bitcoin will not become a common payment method reflects his view of Bitcoin as a store of value rather than a currency for everyday transactions. He sees the lightning network as the key to making Bitcoin more practical for small payments and envisions it becoming a universal protocol for money on the internet. Lightning’s ability to process transactions faster and cheaper positions it as a scalable solution for global payments. Marcus’s perspective aligns with other industry players like Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, who are leveraging the lightning network to enable cheaper global currency transfers. As Bitcoin continues to evolve, its role as a store of value and its potential as a medium of exchange will shape the future of digital payments.
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