Ripple CTO’s Insight: Why You Might Actually Want to Spend Bitcoin (Yes, Really!)

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In a rather thought-provoking moment, Ripple‘s CTO, David Schwartz, was asked a rather bold question by an X user: “Who on earth would ever spend Bitcoin, knowing its price might rise to astronomical levels in the near future?” Well, that’s a question that could make even the most die-hard hodler pause and think.

This exchange kicked off after the notorious Jack Dorsey shared a tweet announcing that Square had now rolled out Bitcoin payments for its 4 million U.S. merchants. A move that seemed to say, “Hey, let’s throw Bitcoin into the real-world payment blender and see what happens.” And to sweeten the deal, these businesses can accept Bitcoin with absolutely no processing fees until 2027. You heard that right – 2027, like the future, future.

“Our sellers can now receive BTC to BTC, BTC to fiat, fiat to BTC, or fiat to fiat,” Dorsey cheerfully tweeted. But with Bitcoin’s price recently hitting a towering $105,104, there’s that burning question again: why on earth would anyone part with such a treasure when it could just keep climbing?

Everyone. You want to pay for things with the asset the person you are paying most wants to receive. You get the full expected value of that future appreciation today when you sell/spend. That’s why the price is so high now.

– David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) November 11, 2025

In a beautifully candid reply, Schwartz stated, “Everyone,” as if to remind us all that we might be missing the forest for the trees. “You want to pay for things with the asset the person you are paying most wants to receive.” That, folks, is the essence of using crypto for payments: give the other person what they crave most, and you’ll both be just fine.

But wait, there’s more: Schwartz elaborated on why Bitcoin’s price continues to soar. “You get the full expected value of that future appreciation today when you sell/spend. That’s why the price is so high now.” So, in other words, paying with Bitcoin today could mean you’re effectively getting a present-day discount on what will become tomorrow’s fortune. Genius or madness? Who knows, but it works.

The Transaction That Made History

Let’s take a trip back in time to 2010, when Bitcoin wasn’t exactly the titan it is today. Back then, Bitcoin was about as useful as a pocket full of air, and miners were still figuring out how to actually use the precious coins they were mining. Enter Laszlo Hanyecz, a software developer with a rather unique idea. On May 18, 2010, he made an offer: 10,000 Bitcoin for a couple of pizzas. Two pizzas. Not just any pizzas, mind you, but Papa John’s pizzas delivered straight to his Florida home.

At the time, 10,000 BTC was worth about $41. Fast forward to today, and those two pizzas would now cost you a whopping $1.05 billion in Bitcoin. Yes, you read that correctly. Billion, with a “B.” That’s the price of a lot of things… including, presumably, a small island.

“I mean, people can call me stupid, but at the time, it was a great deal,” Hanyecz said, as if the irony of it all wasn’t already slapping him in the face. “I don’t think anyone could have known it would take off like this.” Well, Laszlo, nobody could have predicted the rise of Bitcoin-but now, even your pizzas are worth a fortune. Congrats on that, I guess.

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2025-11-11 14:47