- CEO Shone Anstey, believes that some of the greatest business opportunities may lie in the Bitcoin payment networks
- In January 2026, Anstey noted that banks and governments are increasingly recognizing the potential for stablecoins to modernize financial systems
- October 24, 2026, Stablecoin Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, opening a 60-day public consultation period.
LQWD Technologies CEO says institutional adoption, stablecoins and the Lightning Network are positioning Bitcoin for a new phase of global financial integration.
This article is based on an interview originally recorded in January 2026 on The Expert Exchange.Comments and market outlooks attributed to Shone Anstey reflect his views at the time of the interview.
The Bitcoin narrative is shifting beyond price.
While cryptocurrency valuations continue to attract attention, some of the most significant developments in digital assets are happening at the infrastructure level.
As the digital currency space has moved more into mainstream finance, Shone Anstey, CEO of LQWD Technologies, believes that some of the greatest business opportunities may lie in the payment networks and other technologies that are being built around Bitcoin.
Anstey, a Bitcoin advocate who first became interested in the technology around 2011, discussed his outlook for the industry during a January 2026 appearance on The Expert Exchange.
His perspective extended beyond Bitcoin’s investment potential to include stablecoins, and institutional adoption. As well, he discusses Canada’s evolving regulatory environment and the possibility of artificial intelligence using cryptocurrencies to make payments independently.
Developments throughout 2026 have brought several of these themes into sharper focus.
Canada has advanced its federal stablecoin regulatory framework, while LQWD has introduced developing technology. The technology is designed to help AI agents access and transact over Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.
Together, these developments illustrate a broader evolution in money, payments and financial infrastructure as the global economy becomes increasingly digital.
The constantly changing state of digital assets and stablecoins
During the January interview, Anstey reflected on cryptocurrency market performance in 2025. He acknowledged that Bitcoin’s price action had disappointed some investors.
However, he viewed the year as a period of consolidation following the substantial gains recorded in 2024. He holds this view, rather than seeing it as a setback for the underlying technology.
“2025 was not the price action everybody was hoping for for Bitcoin and crypto,” he said. “But in reality, we had such a huge run in 2024, it kind of just digested the gains.”
More significant, in his view, was the progress being made across the industry.
Anstey pointed to changing regulatory attitudes in the United States, growing institutional interest and increasing participation from traditional financial institutions.
“Wall Street has taken notice,” he said, highlighting the growing interest in cryptocurrency investment products.
His argument is that the industry’s development should not be measured exclusively by market prices. Regulatory acceptance, institutional involvement and real-world applications are equally important indicators of where the sector may be heading.
Anstey compares the evolution of cryptocurrency with the early development of the internet. This was when telecommunications companies initially resisted technologies they believed could threaten their existing businesses.
He believes the same dynamic is playing out in financial services. Particularly where established institutions are gradually recognizing the potential of digital infrastructure.
“In fact, it’ll make it 100 to 1,000 times better as we move into the digital age here,” he said, referring to the potential transformation of financial systems.
The use of stablecoins in the financial system
One of the central themes of Anstey’s January outlook was the growing importance of stablecoins.
These digital assets are generally designed to maintain a stable value relative to traditional currencies, such as the Canadian or U.S. dollar. They offer the potential to combine the convenience of digital transactions with a more predictable unit of value than cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
“Stablecoins will be a big trend and a big narrative for 2026,” Anstey predicted.
He believes banks and governments are increasingly recognizing the potential for stablecoins to modernize financial systems. Particularly when it comes to international payments and settlement.
The situation has become more defined in Canada since the interview.
The federal government introduced the Stablecoin Act through its 2025 budget implementation legislation, which received Royal Assent in March 2026.
On October 24, 2026, Stablecoin Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, opening a 60-day public consultation period.
The proposed framework establishes requirements for fiat-backed stablecoin issuers outside the federally regulated financial institution category. This includes registration with the Bank of Canada, reserve assets, redemption requirements, governance and risk management.
The proposed regulations are intended to come into force in fall 2027.
These developments represent an important step toward establishing a dedicated federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in Canada.
For Anstey, the business case is straightforward: international payments need to become faster and more efficient.
“If you’re going to pay for oil or services around the world, you’re going to use instant settlement stablecoins,” he said in January. “You need a Canadian stablecoin.”
His comments reflect the broader competitive challenge facing Canada. This includes countries exploring how digital currencies can become part of their financial infrastructure.
The business opportunity behind the Bitcoin Lightning Network
While Bitcoin remains the best-known cryptocurrency, Anstey believes investors should pay closer attention to the companies building the infrastructure around it.
His company, LQWD Technologies, operates in this emerging sector as a Bitcoin Lightning Network service provider.
The Lightning Network is a second-layer payment protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It is designed to facilitate faster, lower-cost transactions, including micro-transactions. This also means, without requiring every payment to be recorded individually on Bitcoin’s base layer.
“We are a Lightning Network service provider. We work exclusively on Bitcoin,” Anstey explained.
Rather than operating as a consumer-focused cryptocurrency exchange, LQWD provides infrastructure that helps payments move from one point to another across the Lightning Network.
The company receives transaction-routing fees in satoshis, the smallest denomination of Bitcoin.
During the January interview, Anstey reported record transaction volumes across the company’s network. He described increasing adoption as an encouraging development for the business.
“We’ve seen incredible growth in that,” he said. “We’ve seen more and more adoption.”
The opportunity, he believes, lies in helping create an open global payment network. To him, this is more valuable than simply speculating on the price of a digital asset.
“Consider it like this. It’s a global open-source payment layer backed by the hardest digital asset that’s out there.”
For publicly traded companies operating in this sector, increasing network activity could create opportunities to generate revenue through the infrastructure supporting digital payments.
AI may build a whole new payment economy
Perhaps the most fascinating part of Anstey’s outlook is the relationship between Bitcoin and artificial intelligence.
Traditional payment systems have largely been designed around transactions between individuals, businesses and financial institutions.
Anstey believes the development of increasingly autonomous AI systems could create an entirely new category of economic activity: machines paying machines.
“Machines will pay machines. AI will pay AI,” he said during the interview.
He believes AI systems will increasingly need the ability to make small payments to access services, exchange information and complete transactions independently.
These applications could require payment networks capable of handling enormous transaction volumes while transferring very small amounts of money quickly and efficiently.
Anstey sees the Lightning Network as a potential solution
Unlike traditional banking systems, which generally require established financial relationships and account access, open-source payment networks allow developers to build applications without requiring permission from a centralized organization.
The idea is particularly relevant as AI agents become increasingly capable of completing tasks independently.
LQWD has since taken a step toward this emerging market.
In April 2026, the company announced the launch of its AI Launchpad, a service designed to help AI agents connect to and transact over the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
The company described the service as live on the Lightning mainnet, with machine-readable onboarding and trust information intended to simplify access for AI applications.
The initiative is designed to address some of the technical and operational challenges that have made it more difficult for AI agents to participate in Lightning-based transactions.
It could also create additional opportunities for LQWD through transaction-routing fees generated by increased machine-driven network activity.
The development is particularly interesting in the context of Anstey’s earlier comments.
What he described in January as a potential future application of Bitcoin infrastructure has since become an area of active product development for the company.
The broader commercial opportunity will depend on whether autonomous AI systems adopt these payment capabilities at meaningful scale, but the concept represents an emerging use case for digital assets.
The benefits of open-source technology and network effects
Anstey’s view of Bitcoin is based as much on technology as it is on finance.
He has said his initial interest in Bitcoin came from a technology perspective rather than an investment one. He first became interested around 2011 and began acquiring Bitcoin in 2012.
The open-source nature of the technology is among its greatest strengths, he believes.
Anstey compares Bitcoin’s development with that of Linux, the open-source operating system that eventually became widely adopted throughout major technology companies and enterprise infrastructure.
His argument is that decentralized technologies become increasingly difficult to displace once they develop a sufficiently large community of users and developers.
“Open-source technology is very difficult to stop when it hits a head of steam,” he said.
The comparison is significant because Bitcoin is not simply competing with other investment products.
It is developing as an alternative financial and technological infrastructure that could support applications far beyond cryptocurrency trading.
As more developers, businesses and individuals participate, the network effect becomes increasingly powerful.
For Anstey, this is one of the reasons Bitcoin’s long-term potential should be considered in the context of its technological applications and global reach.
Investing in Bitcoin and the companies building around it
Anstey also discussed the different ways investors can participate in the cryptocurrency industry.
The most direct options include purchasing Bitcoin through a cryptocurrency platform or gaining exposure through an exchange-traded fund.
Beyond direct ownership, he sees opportunities among publicly traded companies involved in Bitcoin accumulation, mining, computing infrastructure and payment network development.
LQWD occupies a different position within that landscape.
The company’s business model combines Bitcoin exposure through its balance sheet with the development and operation of Lightning Network infrastructure.
This provides exposure to the underlying digital asset while also creating potential opportunities associated with the growth of the payment network.
Other companies, including HIVE Digital Technologies and Hut 8, have business interests spanning digital asset infrastructure and high-performance computing.
However, Anstey believes investors should first understand the underlying asset before exploring individual companies.
“My view is if you want to get into Bitcoin, first thing you should do before you get into other companies, buy Bitcoin direct or buy the ETF,” he said.
His position is that investors should understand Bitcoin. First learn about Bitcoin before considering the additional opportunities and risks associated with publicly traded businesses operating in the sector.
The relationship between gold and Bitcoin is changing
The January interview also explored the relationship between Bitcoin and traditional stores of value, particularly gold and silver.
Anstey recognizes the historical importance of precious metals and does not believe Bitcoin investors should automatically dismiss them.
He is also a silver investor, pointing to its industrial applications and potential demand associated with electrification and battery technologies.
His preference for Bitcoin is rooted in his belief that its technology and potential as a global payment network offer a different kind of long-term opportunity.
“I’m preferring to stack Bitcoin at these prices because I think it’s had a year where it went sideways, it’s consolidating, and the fundamentals are super sharp,” he said in January.
He was careful to characterize this as his personal investment opinion rather than financial advice.
Anstey also expressed an ambitious long-term view of Bitcoin’s potential. During the interview, he suggested he could envision a 100- to 200-fold increase in its value over the next 10 to 15 years.
That projection reflects his conviction in the technology and its potential for global adoption, rather than a guaranteed investment outcome.
For investors, the distinction between the potential of the technology and the volatility of the underlying asset remains important.
The future of financial infrastructure
Ultimately, Anstey believes Bitcoin’s most significant contribution could extend well beyond its role as a digital store of value.
He sees the technology as a potential foundation for global payments, digital trust, automated transactions and a more accessible financial system.
The combination of stablecoins, Lightning Network infrastructure and artificial intelligence could create opportunities for businesses that are not necessarily traditional cryptocurrency companies, but instead provide the technology and services supporting the next generation of financial transactions.
For LQWD, that means continuing to develop its Lightning Network operations while exploring emerging applications such as AI-driven payments.
For the broader industry, it represents a gradual shift in focus from cryptocurrency speculation toward practical applications of digital assets.
Technology vs. short term market movements
Anstey’s message during the January interview was that businesses should concentrate on developing the technology rather than becoming distracted by short-term market movements.
“We’re just going to keep our heads down at our company here and stay focused,” he said. “Just keep building.”
The next chapter of Bitcoin may not be defined solely by how high its price climbs. Anstey adds its also about how deeply its underlying technology becomes integrated into the global economy.
This article is based on an interview with Shone Anstey originally broadcast on The Expert Exchange in January 2026. Subsequent company and regulatory developments have been incorporated. Investment opinions and price projections are attributed to Anstey and do not constitute financial advice.
Sean Anstey’s book, Trust: The Rise of Bitcoin, is available on Amazon. For more insights into Bitcoin’s future and its transformative impact on the financial world, check out his book or visit LQWD Technologies.
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