Foundations · 02 / 86
Why it exists
Crypto was built so people could move value without asking a bank for permission. It did not remove power. It moved it.
The problem it named
Banks and payment firms can freeze an account, block a country, or shut a door when a crowd is winning. A public network was meant to let a transfer happen because the rules were met, not because a company approved the person.
What it did not solve
You can still be robbed, misled, or locked out of an exchange. Most people meet crypto through a company. That company can have the same interest as the bank: earn from you, and keep the power to stop the money.
The useful question is not whether crypto is good. It is whether this particular door still has a firm behind it.
Check yourself
Does using crypto automatically step you away from a corporation?
No. An exchange account is still a firm.
After this you can separate the idea of an open network from the app that sold you access to it.
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