> Holding on to cash is like running your own bank. You have to check that the money you're given isn't counterfeit, store it safely, insure against loss, prote

> Holding on to cash is like running your own bank. You have to check that the money you're given isn't counterfeit, store it safely, insure against loss, protect against theft, project future needs, etc. It is a massive faff. The author is trusting banks too much. -> counterfeiting: It's impossible to check that your bank is not counterfeiting money by cooking books. There are strict measures but not all countries have these. Also, your government can "counterfeit" your currency and neither cash or a bank account will help against that. -> store it safely: You need to store safely your online access codes and your credit/debit cards. -> insure against loss: Banks lose money but it's socialized on all customers (or multiple banks). Theoretically, you should compare people loss vs bank loss of money; but insurance gives you protection against a single accident and it's difficult to get such insurance as an individual. -> protect against theft: Banks do help in modern countries but it's far from a 100% guarantee. -> project future needs: don't even know what this means? > So people use banks. In the UK, they're mostly free. I give an institution my money and, due to a combination of their size, insurance, and regulators, I'm confident that my money will still be there tomorrow. They are unlikely to give me fake notes, and they can refund me if I've been defrauded. I trust them. Fair enough. 2008 was 14 years ago. I guess that's the average person's memory? > So people will gather around big institutions. Those which have the funds, insurance, and regulatory oversight to provide a reasonable degree of trust. So that's Coinbase & co but with the extra feature that you can take matters on your own hands. How is that worse than a fully closed system? > But don't come running to *me* Sorry but this dude is full of himself and I don't think he understands cryptocurrencies