Brian Armstrong Admits Bitcoin Didn’t Deliver Satoshi’s Vision, Something Else Did
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says Bitcoin didn’t reside as much as Satoshi Nakamoto’s imaginative and prescient of on a regular basis digital cash. It turned digital gold as a substitute. Stablecoins took over the funds job, he argues.
Bitcoin (BTC) sits close to $64,523, down about 45% from its October 2025 peak of $126,080. Stablecoins are shifting the opposite means, with provide close to document highs.
Armstrong Rethinks Bitcoin’s Original Role
Armstrong made the decision in an interview with Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath on the People by WTF podcast. Kamath is a self-declared crypto skeptic. He requested the Coinbase boss a easy query. Does Bitcoin nonetheless do what it was constructed for?
“You’re proper, I believe it’s honest to say at this level that Bitcoin has succeeded as a retailer of worth, and I don’t suppose it has develop into a medium of trade,” Armstrong responded.
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Why Bitcoin Drifted From Satoshi’s Vision
Nakamoto’s 2008 whitepaper promised money that strikes on-line with out banks. Bitcoin’s first block even carried a 2009 headline about UK financial institution bailouts. That was the mission.
Seventeen years on, Armstrong says the funds dream by no means landed. Fixes got here and went.
“There’s individuals who have tried to make that occur with the Lightning Network, was an optimisation layer on high of Bitcoin, but it surely by no means actually took off.”
The larger drawback sits in Bitcoin’s personal design. Supply is capped, so holders hoard it like gold.
Armstrong mentioned “folks suppose it’s going to be value extra sooner or later, in order that they don’t actually need to spend it proper now.” Volatility makes it worse, he added.
Stablecoins Take Over the Payments Role
Stablecoins crammed the hole. These dollar-backed tokens now do the boring job of cash, at the same time as banks defend their old rails.
“So we’ve really seen huge progress of stablecoins working on blockchains. Fiat-backed stablecoins because the medium of trade and Bitcoin has remained the shop worth as digital gold.”
The numbers agree. DefiLlama information exhibits stablecoin provide close to $310 billion. Tether’s USDT holds $184 billion, and Circle’s USDC provides $73 billion.
Armstrong additionally credit the GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, for making the tokens authorized and trusted within the US. Much of that exercise now runs on Base and Solana.
Still, Armstrong sees no failure right here. In his view, Bitcoin merely discovered a special job.
“I believe the Bitcoin chain is okay with that. They’re not intending it for use for high quantity funds. They’re digital gold.”
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