Jack Dorsey sparked controversy by saying “Bitcoin is not crypto.” The Twitter founder explained why he believes BTC is real money.
Jack Dorsey explained why Bitcoin is not cryptocurrency, but money
Twitter founder and longtime Bitcoin supporter Jack Dorsey has once again stirred up the crypto community by posting a short but provocative message on X: “Bitcoin is not crypto.”
The post quickly garnered over 4,000 comments and divided users into two camps. Some recalled that Satoshi Nakamoto himself called Bitcoin a “peer-to-peer cryptocurrency” in 2010, while others supported Dorsey, who emphasized the word “currency” to emphasize the monetary nature of BTC.
“Crypto” not mentioned in white paper
Dorsey pointed out that the original Bitcoin white paper, published in 2008, did not contain the word “crypto” at all. The document described Bitcoin as “peer-to-peer electronic cash,” a payment system based on cryptographic proof rather than trust.
Another archived post by Nakamoto from 2010 referred to Bitcoin as “digital currency using cryptography and a distributed network” — a digital currency, not “the crypto industry.”
“Bitcoin is money”
An hour before his viral tweet, Dorsey wrote even more succinctly: “Bitcoin is money.”
He explained that he sees BTC as the future form of money, not a speculative asset.
His financial company Block (formerly Square) is already developing zero-fee BTC payments through its Square payment service. Dorsey shared a post from a user who said he had “sold all Square merchants to Bitcoin payments” after the launch of the no-fee program in 2026.
Community reaction
Not everyone agreed with Dorsey’s statement. Some users emphasized that Bitcoin has limited scalability, which makes it difficult to use as a means of payment.
Others saw his words as another manifestation of Bitcoin maximalism that separates BTC from the rest of the crypto industry.
Among those who joined the discussion was David Schwartz, CTO of Ripple, who noted:
“I don’t quite understand what Jack was trying to say. Maybe he means that Bitcoin should be viewed as a payment system, not as a speculative asset.”
Dorsey has long argued that Bitcoin should remain a means of payment, not just “digital gold.” His vision is a world where BTC becomes the primary form of electronic money, independent of governments and corporations.
Related: Block, led by Jack Dorsey, sets 10-year target for Bitcoin mining rig durability
