Bitcoin is developing a settlement premium — and the market is slow to price it.
As issuance declines, Bitcoin’s value proposition shifts from circulating liquidity to settlement finality. Block space becomes a scarce commodity, priced dynamically by demand for irreversible, neutral settlement on the most secure ledger in existence.
Rising transaction fees during congestion are not a flaw; they are evidence of market-driven prioritization. High-value actors outbid low-value transfers, signaling Bitcoin’s evolution toward a global base settlement layer rather than a retail payment network.
This is why throughput debates miss the point. Bitcoin optimizes for security, not convenience. Its constraint is intentional, creating a premium for finality that alternative chains dilute through flexibility.
Over time, BTC is less about moving frequently and more about settling decisively. Markets that understand this stop valuing Bitcoin like a tech asset and start valuing it like sovereign-grade settlement infrastructure.
Scarcity isn’t just supply — it’s access to final settlement.
