Block’s Spiral team said on Oct. 27, 2026, that weak demand, rather than technology, was the main obstacle to wider bitcoin payment adoption. Its report said payment infrastructure had improved, but bitcoin holders rarely spend it, merchants prefer dollars, and volatility, taxes and regulatory uncertainty complicate payments. Spiral said major payment and technology companies were increasingly choosing stablecoins, including for AI-agent payments.
Spiral proposed shared payment infrastructure, spending incentives, micropayments and services for people in countries with unstable currencies. It invited proposals and experimental results, but did not claim its ideas would guarantee mass adoption.
