I think this is a weakness of classical payment networks: reversibility, even when you don't want it. Even when a service claims to be non-reversible, eventuall

I think this is a weakness of classical payment networks: reversibility, even when you don't want it. Even when a service claims to be non-reversible, eventually exceptions are made[1]. As Satoshi put it[2]: > Completely non-reversible transactions are not really possible, since financial institutions cannot avoid mediating disputes. The cost of mediation increases transaction costs, limiting the minimum practical transaction size and cutting off the possibility for small casual transactions, and there is a broader cost in the loss of ability to make non-reversible payments for non- reversible services. With the possibility of reversal, the need for trust spreads. Merchants must be wary of their customers, hassling them for more information than they would otherwise need. A certain percentage of fraud is accepted as unavoidable. With bitcoin, you can build services like arbitration on top of the non-reversible payments, and pay for them separately only when you feel that you need them. I think that's awesome. [1] http://betabeat.com/2012/03/dwolla-was-just-sued-by-bitcoiners-for-2-m/ http://betabeat.com/2012/03/dwolla-was-just-sued-by-bitcoine... [2] http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf