> I think we are :-) In fact, I think we agree more than we disagree :) > I agree there's fat that could be trimmed Wikipedia has a primer on bank transfers

> I think we are :-) In fact, I think we agree more than we disagree :) > I agree there's fat that could be trimmed Wikipedia has a primer on bank transfers (it sounds like you are already quite familiar with them, but for the sake of reference) here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_transfer#Process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_transfer#Process Bitcoin basically replaces steps 2-4. A bank just needs to get the Bitcoin address of the receiving bank in a reliable manner (ie. instead of IBAN/BIC) and then the transaction can be made and verified. The regulations are still important, because they hold each end accountable (so if Bob's bank can prove that they sent the money to Alice's bank, which they can, then the regulations make sure Alice gets her money) but right now there are a whole lot of unnecessary regulations for the middle part (steps 2-4 on the Wikipedia page). More importantly, using Bitcoin greatly reduces the number of international regulations and agreements that are required, and those are probably the fattest of all. So yeah, I would love to see Bitcoin replacing SWIFT/Fedwire etc, but I doubt it will ever replace banks (although it might make it easier for smaller banks to compete). Realistically Bitcoin will probably need to replace credit cards before it can replace SWIFT, though, and we're still a ways off. (You may be interested in this article, if you haven't seen it yet: https://stripe.com/blog/bitcoin-the-stripe-perspective https://stripe.com/blog/bitcoin-the-stripe-perspective)