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Bankers are the only people who get to use [fiat] money
924 sats \ 9 comments \ @Scoresby 23 Feb bitcoin
On a recent Odd Lots podcast (Yes, their bitcoin coverage is abysmal, but they have a lot of interesting financial plumbing interviews), Joe asked the guest "What is the main product that a bank offers?"
The guest answered: "Deposits," and they yucked it up for a bit about how banking apps and checking accounts are a service that we should be paying for.
But then at 00:37:07, still talking about bank deposits, the guest says:
"It's the ledger of the whole economy. You cannot make a payment that isn't a deposit transfer happening somewhere at the back end."
Put more succinctly: you cannot make a payment without a bank.
Shorter still: only bankers can use money.
And then they went on with the show. No big deal.
It hit me pretty hard that most people don't even see this as a problem. For them, it's the natural state of things. Like the people living in the Matrix, they don't understand that line in the whitepaper:
What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party.
Made me wonder if I would have even noticed if I hadn't spent some time studying bitcoin. It is truly amazing it changes what you see.
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40 sats \ 0 replies \ @RoundaboutStacker 23 Feb
Once you see it, its impossible to un-see it. The biggest crime in the history of the planet is the banks getting control over money, while keeping the average person from even seeing it. Then all the following steps are only a matter of time. Complete tracking, prohibitive spending, melting the value, and enslavement. They really did not think there would be anything to break their hold, last of all Bitcoin.
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40 sats \ 1 reply \ @co574 23 Feb
*banksters
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby OP 23 Feb
Shoot, can't edit it anymore.
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30 sats \ 5 replies \ @badabing 23 Feb
You forget about cash money.
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0 sats \ 4 replies \ @Scoresby OP 23 Feb
I thought about adding a caveat about this, but the trend is clear: cash money is getting more difficult to use and fewer people are using it. For me, the biggest point is this: you can't use cash online. It's such a huge problem, and really kind of incredible when you think about it.
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20 sats \ 3 replies \ @badabing 23 Feb
In some countries it's not, and measures are taken to keep it in place.
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Scoresby OP 23 Feb
What fiat currency can be used on the internet without a middleman?
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20 sats \ 1 reply \ @badabing 23 Feb
Where did I say that?
I said that in some countries using cash is not getting more difficult, and measures are taken to keep the cash system in place.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby OP 23 Feb
I see. I still think no amount of preservation stops this train. In the internet era where people are used to the convenience of electronic payments, cash can't compete. People want convenience. I will be surprised if there are very many jurisdictions that protect cash money payments ten years from now.
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