Robert Mitchneck, head of BlackRock’s digital assets, said Bitcoin now functions mainly as a store of value rather than a payments network.

Role of Bitcoin today

Mitchneck emphasized that institutional demand and scarcity dynamics currently underpin Bitcoin’s valuation more than its use as a transactional rail.

He noted that market participants increasingly treat the asset as a long-term store rather than an instrument for everyday payments across borders.

Payments infrastructure

According to Mitchneck, Bitcoin lacks a sufficiently mature layer-two ecosystem comparable to payment systems needed for global transaction volumes.

He referred to networks such as the Lightning Network as examples of protocols that must scale before broad merchant adoption occurs.

Investor guidance

Mitchneck advised investors to focus on long-term horizon strategies and to avoid attempts at short-term market timing around price swings.

«Do not try to time the market»

He recommended concentrating on diversification, risk management and understanding custody and regulatory frameworks when allocating capital to digital assets.

Mitchneck also noted that longer-term investors should consider on-chain metrics and institutional custody solutions to assess infrastructure readiness.

Implications for markets

The shift toward storing value affects trading behavior, liquidity profiles and how market participants price future protocol development and scaling timelines.

As layer-two technologies evolve, the balance between Bitcoin’s role as a reserve asset and its utility for payments may change over time.

For now, Mitchneck’s assessment frames Bitcoin primarily as a store of value while payments use remains contingent on further infrastructure progress.