The difference is that if there is an error, I can unwind the error with the counterparty's cooperation or without it. A bit harder to do that when someone dep

The difference is that if there is an error, I can unwind the error with the counterparty's cooperation or without it. A bit harder to do that when someone deprives me of bitcoin by theft or fraud. I am familiar with compensating transactions. Ledgers are a necessary mechanism, but they are not a sufficient mechanism to safeguard against theft, fraud and error. These systems work because of multiple overlapping defences and they still fail. I find that I tense up at the strong strain of technoutopianism that runs through bitcoin and cryptocurrency circles. You're asking the rest of us to bet everything on block. I don't trust anyone to not make a mistake and I don't believe in single lines of defence, no matter how computationally intractable they are on paper.