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@ pam
2025-04-15 03:50:32TL;DR : No.
(This is not a feasibility analysis, but a reflection on philosophical alignment with Bitcoin’s vision).
The moment stablecoins or national currencies gain traction in Bitcoin LN, you can forget about Bitcoin’s position as a purely decentralized medium of exchange. Bitcoin’s position will be undermined.
A Bitcoin-native global economy, where people and businesses transact directly in Bitcoin, is what aligns with its original purpose. This is what we should aim for. This is all we should aim for.
I used to believe stablecoins might help with on/off ramps. But the truth is, if Bitcoin is to function as a true currency, broader global adoption that bypasses traditional financial systems will make those ramps irrelevant.
Eventually, two camps will emerge. One will try to preserve Bitcoin’s purity as a currency. The other will push for everything else in the name of Bitcoin: store-of-value narratives, ETFs, stablecoin collaborations, tokens, pump and dumps, NFTs, and centralized workarounds.
Currency domination, especially by the USD, has long contributed to poverty in the Global South. It deepens inequality and worsens debt burdens. During the Tequila Crisis and the Asian Financial Crisis, countries like Mexico and regions like Southeast Asia suffered massive currency devaluations and defaults because of their dependence on the USD. Every time the US raises interest rates, developing nations experience capital flight, currency drops, and economic hardship. This is not ancient history. It has been happening in the last two years and continues to widen the poverty gap. And as always, it is the poor who suffer the most.
What does this have to do with stablecoins? Stablecoin is your fiat 2.0.
USDT is just currency domination through blockchain. It is pegged to the USD, and if it rides Bitcoin’s Lightning rails, it risks keeping users transacting in USD rather than in Bitcoin itself. That not only undermines Bitcoin’s core purpose, it risks making Bitcoin appear like it is taking sides in the fragile and invisible global currency war.
To counter, people will say “Let all stablecoins come. Peg them to any currency.” But what’s the point of Bitcoin then? To become the new logistics layer for fiat 2.0?
That is not progress. That is regress. It is inviting the very systems Bitcoin was built to disrupt back into the ecosystem.
I believe when you use stablecoins this way, you are not Trojan-horsing Bitcoin into the mainstream. You are letting fiat Trojan-horse its way into Bitcoin. And if you let them in, they will win.
Adding stablecoin into Bitcoin LN is counterproductive to Bitcoin's decentralized ethos.
Bitcoin’s true potential is its ability to provide an alternative to centralized, government-controlled currencies and financial systems. We should stick to the original game plan.
Side note: If you really want to Trojan-horse Bitcoin adoption…
In my country, we have so many mixed races and cross-cultural traditions. During Chinese New Year, if you are married, you give everyone who is not married an “ang pow,” which is money in a red packet. Because we are so deeply integrated, people give money at almost every celebration: Christmas, Eid, Diwali, birthdays, graduations, even funerals.
I recently met up with a friend who just had a baby, and I was more than happy to be the first to give her daughter some Bitcoin. Her first sats. It would not hurt to start giving Bitcoin as gifts. And if someone gets offended that it is not part of their tradition, just get a Bitkey and wrap it up. It is so pretty.
Find more fun and creative ways to spread Bitcoin adoption.
But for goodness’ sake, stop justifying everything else in the name of Bitcoin adoption.
To get a better idea of Fiat 2.0, I mind-mapped Bitcoin on macroeconomy on my scratchpad.
If you take a closer look, it might help you answer a few key questions:
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Do you want more or less government control over money?
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Are you a fan of central banks? Then you probably prefer stablecoins.
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