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Comment by deweller

2 months ago

An important feature of (some) crypto stablecoins is that they function like cash.

Cash is fungible. And cash in my wallet is not subject to being frozen like a bank account.

One can argue the merits of a digital cash for society. But a crypto-based digital cash is fundamentally different from a digital bank-based payment system.

then we continue to use physical cash. a $10 bill still works when the power goes out

  • I did find myself without barely any cash during Spain's blackout and that made it really stressful. It made me value physical currency a lot more.

    Now I wish digital payments didn't require a server/ledger connection at all, but I understand that would risk double-spend attacks unless all the computation could be fully trusted, which we can't even guarantee for existing card payments.

    • Holding a small amount of cash is even promoted as part of a "survival package" here in The Netherlands. (Next to water, canned food etc.)