"Bitcoin has failed as means of payment" is one of the prevalent criticisms of Bitcoin (BTC) that Fidelity Digital Assets is seeking to rebut. In a blog post published on Nov. 13, the firm took on six “persistent” criticisms, including Bitcoin's volatility, environmental wastefulness and use in illicit activities.
Regarding the coin's purported failure as a means of payment for everyday transactions, Fidelity's argument is that this criticism fails to understand Bitcoin's core purpose. The currency is outperformed, Fidelity accepts, by conventional payment rails like Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and PayPal, all of which can offer higher throughput. However, Bitcoin has been designed with other priorities in mind, including “perfect scarcity,” Fidelity argues.