Jack Paul 
Bitcoin’s Potential as Global Settlement Network
David Marcus, the former president of PayPal and current CEO of Lightspark, recently shared some interesting thoughts about Bitcoin’s future. He believes Bitcoin has the capacity to eventually handle trillions of dollars in daily transactions. This isn’t just speculation either – he’s building infrastructure to make it happen through his company.
Marcus sees Bitcoin evolving into what he calls an “open money network” for the internet. The idea is that Bitcoin could serve as a global settlement layer where transactions happen in real time with minimal costs. I think he’s onto something here, though the timeline might be longer than some expect.
Lightning Network as the Scaling Solution
The key to this vision lies with the Lightning Network. Marcus pointed out that traditional systems like SWIFT and Visa handle about $5 trillion and $33 billion daily respectively. But they’re not truly instant, and they come with costs that add up over time.
Lightspark is working on Lightning Network infrastructure, and the growth numbers are pretty impressive. There are now over 20,000 active nodes, with capacity increasing by 3,000% recently. The network can theoretically process millions of transactions per second, which makes Marcus’s prediction technically feasible.
What’s interesting is how they’re approaching this. Instead of just building the network, they’re creating APIs and SDKs that let developers integrate Lightning payments into their applications. This could be crucial for widespread adoption.
Institutional Confidence and Stablecoins
Bitcoin’s institutional adoption continues to grow, which Marcus sees as a positive sign. The market capitalization is around $1.3 trillion now, with daily on-chain transactions between $15-20 billion. He believes increasing institutional confidence will help shift Bitcoin’s perception from speculative asset to financial infrastructure.
One area that caught my attention was his mention of stablecoins on Bitcoin. Projects like Stacks and RGB are enabling stablecoin issuance directly on the Bitcoin network. Combining stable assets with Lightning’s speed could really drive everyday business use and international payments.
The Road Ahead
Bitcoin’s hash rate is at all-time highs in 2025, which adds to network security and reliability. Marcus anticipates that as the infrastructure matures, Bitcoin could genuinely compete with global payment networks in terms of both scale and performance.
But I should note – he emphasized this shift will be gradual. It depends on wallet adoption and embedded payment systems spreading globally. The technology might be ready, but user adoption takes time. Still, the pieces are falling into place in a way that makes this vision more plausible than it was even a few years ago.
What’s compelling about this perspective is that it comes from someone who understands traditional payment systems intimately. Marcus isn’t just a Bitcoin enthusiast – he’s someone who built his career in the very industry Bitcoin aims to transform. That gives his predictions a certain weight, though only time will tell how quickly this future materializes.