I don't have full conviction that the situation I described will lead to better outcomes but I am not convinced by the current system either, and it's worth con

I don't have full conviction that the situation I described will lead to better outcomes but I am not convinced by the current system either, and it's worth considering how the system could work with the newer tools that we now have. > I don't see how a Bitcoin bank as outlined above can be regulated to have a reserve requirement either. Arguably, this offers even less protection than a traditional bank, due to the inability of the public sphere to regulate it. And still, as long as a Bitcoin bank is perceived as sufficiently trustworthy based on past behavior, people would use it. The reserve requirement is something set through the political process so is independent of the properties of the money, so that can go either way both in a fiat or cryptocurrency system. The difference with cryptocurrencies is that you don't have as much need to store them in a bank. One reason to loan them to the bank is to get some kind of return on the money. In this situation reckless behaviour might be driven out faster, just like in the hedgefund industry. > Next, I don't share your view that interest rates being set by the market is a good thing. Economies were far more fragile and volatile back when they were backed by bullion. The vast majority of people who have income from labor comparable to their net worth prefer that their net worth not fluctuate so much that they may not consistently maintain their standard of living, and this is helped by a steady interest rate. A rational agent prefers this unless their net worth greatly eclipses their ability to obtain wealth from other forms of capital. Since I get most of my income from labour, I can tell you that I would prefer to have a slight deflation in prices every year and maintain my purchasing power, without having to go through all kind of hoops and loops to invest my money in bonds, stocks and other risky things. As to old economies being backed by bullion, I tend to agree there. Bullion can be a poor monetary base due to its lack of divisibility. But there were probably more things that lead to fragile economies than the fact that money was backed by bullion. Of course, there are problems with limited money supply systems. How would governments finance wars? You would have to finance things through taxation which is very unpopular.