As a client, it's easy to be your own CA. Then you can just obtain the remote server certificates you need and, if you trust those endpoints, sign them yoursel

As a client, it's easy to be your own CA. Then you can just obtain the remote server certificates you need and, if you trust those endpoints, sign them yourself. The problem is how to get those certificates and be sure they are the right ones. The problem was already solved in the pre-Internet world: letterhead, signatures and postal mail. Trustworthy commercial entities could really distribute their certificates in paper form (or maybe on a business card) as an official document. Customers then scan these into their computing devices and, if they choose, sign them. I doubt that anyone is pushing HTTPS based on the authentication function. It is the need for encryption that is probably the impetus.