I had a similar opinion until I worked at a bank. Think of banks as an extension of the government, deputized to monitor all transactions for illegal activity.

I had a similar opinion until I worked at a bank. Think of banks as an extension of the government, deputized to monitor all transactions for illegal activity. If banks fail they get in big trouble with the gov’t. Most bank transfers in the US are faster than any blockchain, but this is usually between known corporate entities that do a lot of business. For individuals there’s far more automated scrutiny. In addition, many smaller banks have ancient systems they refuse to upgrade, so overall speed of the banking system is held back by these weak links. Also, US banking oligopoly benefits from slower transactions and higher fees. Europe shows that regulators can force banks to operate faster and cheaper. That’s why this is not a tech issue, it’s a regulatory problem.