While bitcoin (BTC) is often heralded as the toughest digital asset in existence, it still has room to grow and adapt to better meet the needs of its network. Here’s a dive into three potential ways the world’s leading cryptocurrency could accelerate its game.

Can Bitcoin Hold Its Throne?

As of this writing, bitcoin (BTC) is holding steady just above $90,000 per coin, accounting for a solid 59% share of the entire $3.02 trillion crypto market economy. Once dismissed by skeptics, bitcoin has now earned respect from some of the world’s biggest financial institutions and is even being eyed as a potential addition to national reserves.

Beyond its soaring value, Bitcoin’s proof-of-work (PoW) network boasts impressive power, with more than 700 exahash per second (EH/s) supporting the chain. Despite its throne as the king of cryptocurrencies, BTC still has room to grow and maintain its dominance in the years ahead. The following is an exploration of three potential ways to improve the Bitcoin network as it moves into the future.

Scaling Bitcoin—A Decade-Long Dilemma

Discussing Bitcoin’s scaling challenges might feel like tiptoeing through a minefield in some circles, but plenty of enthusiasts argue the network must evolve to support billions of users while staying true to its decentralized, censorship-resistant ethos. For context, over the past 24 hours, BTC handled 581,039 transactions, averaging 6.72 transactions per second (tps). The network has yet to surpass the milestone of 1 million transactions in a single day. Its record came on April 23, when miners confirmed 927,010 transactions, achieving a throughput of about 10.73 tps.

By comparison, Visa operates on an entirely different level, handling roughly 757 million transactions daily, according to its last fiscal year report. While no blockchain currently rivals Visa’s speed, some, like Solana, are making significant strides. For instance, on Dec. 24, 2021, Solana processed an eye-popping 57 million transactions, averaging 659.72 tps. With thoughtful innovation, Bitcoin could one day rival Visa’s speed—a possibility even Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned.

Currently, the Bitcoin blockchain struggles to handle high volumes of transactions when demand spikes. When the network becomes overloaded, transaction fees climb, and low-fee transfers can languish in the mempool for extended periods. Right now, there are 238,922 unconfirmed transactions waiting in the queue, and this number has previously soared past 700,000. During such congestion, fees have reached as high as $240 per transfer, especially following the halving. On a day like that, anyone with less than $240 worth of BTC couldn’t use their funds onchain, leaving many users stuck in limbo.

While layer two (L2) solutions offer alternatives, scaling must be approached with care. If billions of users could transact onchain with minimal barriers, even microtransactions—like pennies multiplied across billions—could generate significant fee revenue for miners. However, as Ethereum users have discovered, L2 solutions can siphon activity away from the layer one (L1) chain, despite their original intent to pay rent. Although L2s can help achieve Visa-level transaction speeds, they, along with sidechains and alternative networks, may not match Bitcoin’s security. This ongoing debate has simmered for nearly a decade and, while not as prominent now, is likely to resurface in the future.

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