MARA CEO Fred Thiel says Bitcoin has lost the race as a payment method, saying that stablecoins are better for commercial transactions, while BTC lacks.
Bitcoin was created as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, but Fred Thiel, the CEO of one of the largest Bitcoin mining firms, MARA Holdings Inc., says Bitcoin has missed its opportunity to become a mainstream payment method.
Thiel says that stablecoins have become the preferred choice while Bitcoin's long-term role is evolving into digital gold.
Speaking in an interview with journalist Natalie Brunell, Fred Thiel said Bitcoin's opportunity to become a mainstream payment network has effectively ended.
"I think Bitcoin as a medium of exchange... has seen its day go by."
According to him, the biggest challenge is Bitcoin's price volatility. Businesses processing thousands of transactions every second need a payment asset whose value remains stable throughout the transaction. Even small price swings can significantly affect profits when operating on thin margins.
For that reason, Thiel believes stablecoins, not Bitcoin, will power the next generation of digital payments, particularly as AI applications begin handling millions of automated transactions.
He expects AI-driven payment systems to rely primarily on dollar backed stablecoins because both buyers and sellers know exactly what value they are exchanging.
Although Thiel dismissed Bitcoin's payment potential, he made it clear that he has not turned bearish on the asset itself.
Instead, he believes Bitcoin has evolved into a store of value rather than a spending currency.
According to Thiel, Bitcoin remains valuable for investors seeking an asset outside centralized financial systems while also allowing wealth to move globally without relying on traditional banking infrastructure.
He also argued that Bitcoin continues to perform well during periods of geopolitical uncertainty because it offers portability and financial independence.
Thiel estimates Bitcoin's fair value at around $90,000, suggesting the asset remains significantly undervalued compared with Bitcoin’s latest ground near $63,000 (press time).
Thiel also highlighted another issue receiving increasing attention among Bitcoin miners.
When Bitcoin's anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, introduced the network, transaction fees were expected to gradually replace block rewards as miners' primary source of revenue after successive halving events.
According to Thiel, that transition has not happened.
Transaction fees remain near historic lows, while each halving continues to reduce mining rewards. Although lower issuance reduces new Bitcoin supply entering the market, miners increasingly rely on block subsidies rather than network activity to generate revenue.
The situation has prompted many mining companies to rethink their long-term business models.
MARA itself is already adapting to that reality.
The company is expanding aggressively into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing data centers, arguing that electricity produces far greater economic value when used for AI infrastructure than traditional Bitcoin mining.
According to Thiel, AI data centers can generate 10 to 15 times more revenue per megawatt than Bitcoin mining operations.
Rather than abandoning mining completely, MARA plans to operate flexible facilities capable of supporting both businesses. Bitcoin mining will increasingly be used to monetize excess electricity or stranded renewable energy whenever AI computing demand is lower.
To finance this transition, MARA has already sold approximately 20,000 BTC over the past year, using part of the proceeds to retire nearly $1 billion in convertible debt.
Even after those sales, the company remains one of the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holders, with 36,303 BTC in its treasury.
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