Contrary to what most think, trusting your bank is not a good thing.
Published in · 2 min read · Jan 4, 2024
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I was at a web meeting with friends on Zoom. The speaker was talking about features of their blockchain service- and he referred to it as a trustless system.
I saw the eyes of a colleague sort of glaze over at that term. Later she asked me “Why would anyone want to work with something they can't trust? I am glad that I can trust my bank.”
Some people interpret “trustless” as meaning that blockchain eliminates trust or implies a lack of trust in the system. This can lead to the misconception that blockchain and cryptocurrencies are inherently untrustworthy or unreliable.
Clarification: In reality, the term “trustless” in the context of blockchain does not mean a lack of trust; it means a shift in trust from centralized intermediaries to decentralized technology.
To put it very simply:
You have been asked to trust your banker all these years. You must trust that your bank won't abuse the middleman position. Even if a banker never breaks that trust, the mere fact that you are required to have faith in an imperfect human is enough to compromise the integrity of everything around that need.
