Bitcoin (BTC) as a network is robust and secure, but also cumbersome. The CEO of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, made the controversial statement in May that he does not believe that Bitcoin is the future of payments. This week, the influential billionaire clarified his stance.
FTX CEO does see a future in Bitcoin
The statement that Bitcoin has no future as a global payment network was especially against the sore leg of the real Bitcoiners. But Bankman-Friend said this week that he didn’t mean not to believe in BTC at all.
In a tweet, the CEO of FTX, one of the industry’s fastest-growing crypto exchanges, shared his thoughts on BTC:
“I was asked if BTC can scale for payments. For transparency, my answer:
1) BTC can definitely be a means of payment, on Lightning, Layer 2 or wrapped
2) BTC blockchain is not intended to scale to millions of transactions per second, so it will not be a direct global payment system
3) optimistic about blockchain payments,”
interview today, asked if BTC can scale for payments
for transparency, my answer:
1) BTC can absolutely be payment asset, on lightning, L2, or wrapped
2) BTC chain not intended to scale to millions of TPS, so won’t be global payments directly
3) bullish on blockchain payments— SBF (@SBF_FTX) June 16, 2022
Bitcoin can scale with layer 2, expects FTX boss
Bitcoin itself can only handle 7 transactions per second (TPS). This concerns transactions that are recorded directly on the blockchain. This is a far cry from the performance of a centralized network like Visa, which can handle nearly 2,000 TPS.
But projects can also build solutions on top of the network, or integrate BTC into solutions outside the Bitcoin blockchain. One such example is the Lightning Network. These scaling solutions make it possible to perform microtransactions. These will only be bundled and processed on the Bitcoin blockchain at a later time.
Transactions with wrapped bitcoins can also be made. These are BTC that exist on another blockchain network. Naturally, this compromises the security of a transaction. Transactions can therefore be done faster and cheaper.
The FTX CEO therefore states that he believes that bitcoin can become a global payment network with such solutions.