# Spiral Seeks Bitcoin Payment Ideas as Everyday Use Remains Limited By Simon Yoon Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/42377 Published: 2026-10-28T05:39:07.000Z Updated: 2026-10-28T05:39:07.000Z Section: Technology > The team says Lightning tools have improved over seven years but wants public data to measure how often people pay with Bitcoin. Spiral, Block’s open-source team focused on Bitcoin (BTC), is seeking proposals and public payment data to address why better Lightning infrastructure has not led to regular Bitcoin spending. Bitcoin payment tools have improved over roughly seven years, and Lightning is now used in live services. Payment providers can add custodial Bitcoin with about the same effort as custodial stablecoins, while self-custody services remain difficult to operate at scale. Routine Bitcoin spending remains limited as payment businesses build around stablecoins. The call adds a new development to the [discussion over Bitcoin payment adoption](). The call seeks public payment data. A public discussion accompanying the report separately invites participants to share merchant and payment data, reflecting gaps in evidence about how often people pay with Bitcoin. In Q1 2026, 99% of x402 protocol transactions settled in USD Coin (USDC). That share describes x402 alone and does not measure all AI-agent payments. Spiral’s report distinguishes spending Bitcoin from using Lightning to route dollar payments; the latter does not show that customers chose Bitcoin at checkout. Spiral points to weak consumer demand, Bitcoin’s price volatility and U.S. tax rules as barriers. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats digital assets as property, and taxpayers must report digital-asset transactions even when they produce no taxable gain or loss. Eligible U.S. Square sellers can accept Bitcoin through Lightning and choose settlement in dollars or Bitcoin. Spiral’s report includes no transaction-volume or repeat-use figures for the feature, so its availability alone does not show how often customers choose it. To test demand, Spiral proposes shared Lightning rails for dollar and Bitcoin payments, spending incentives, and self-custodial options for people facing capital controls or unstable currencies. It also points to per-use payments for services such as AI. Suggested measures include repeat use, payment frequency, transaction value and the share of payments funded in Bitcoin. “The problem is demand, not technology,” Spiral wrote. The public call asks builders, payment providers and funders to submit ideas, criticism and evidence on what would bring Bitcoin into routine commerce. ## Links in this article - [discussion over Bitcoin payment adoption](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/insights/38363)