"BTC Will do to banks what Email did to the postal industry"

[joshy23]

Nice analogy here. Although there still postal industry all over the world, the people are more keen on using email which is instant and fast instead of the 2-3 days of waiting for a postal mail. This is similar to what bitcoin is doing to banks. But I think bank when push to the limit will fight back against bitcoin and will be putting regulations so that they can also protect their industry and interest. In maybe a few years or so, when all the transaction fee and hard fork and soft fork issue has been resolved, this analogy will be happen.

[amacar2]

I don't think any banks have started to worry about bitcoin yet, actually they are trying to make their network more secure and better using the blockchain technology bitcoin have introduced.
Bitcoin will not be able to replace banks in the same way, email have replaced postal industry.

[chennan]

I disagree on this one, I mean the statement could become true but they simply won't let us. The banking system is exactly what's controlling the governments nowadays while emails are totally under the control of the governments so there is no reason for them to stop it while having bitcoin (which is decentralized) used by people and leaving the banking system (centralized and control by them) is a threat for them.

While I understand what you are saying here... let me play devil's advocate for a second.  You could argue that when email was coming out and people didn't quite understand the importance of communication over the internet, the governments probably saw email in this same light.  They didn't know how to control it because they didn't understand the technology.  Essentially all postal services are/were controlled by the government at the time as well, and as time went on, people in the government grew to understand it's importance of being able to control and monitor email communications.  So now they give incentives to companies like yahoo and google to be able to monitor email accounts.

You could argue the same thing will happen to Banks and Bitcoin.  Governments have allowed banks to get "too big to fail".  It is no secret that banks and government go hand in hand with one another.  Bitcoin is "decentralized", sure, but everything on the blockchain can be observed and tracked by the government in real time.  You think governments won't want to capitalize on that?  Bitcoin isn't anonymous, it is pseudonymous; and being that the governments have good relations with the big banks, it will be relatively simple for governments to see what people buy and who they pay in real time, because people mostly move money in and out of Bitcoin through their banks.

It's true, and it's interesting. They can link bitcoin public keys (wallets) to you, which was funded by your bank account, this is easy. But the next step is harder, if you send bitcoin from your 'marked' wallet (using the assignes public key) to another bitcoin wallet, then how will they know if it's yours or not? If it's a HW wallet of you to store your savings in it? Or it's someone else's wallet? Even if you are the only one who transfers btc to a wallet, how would they know if it's yours or not? They can just presume it, but it's not an evidence.

While you might be right technically about that aspect, the main problem of the open nature of Bitcoin comes when you think about the end result when you go to cash out Bitcoin back into fiat.  If you receive some payments here and there that might get mixed up with you bitcoin holdings, there is a level of "taint" that goes along with that.  If people who are observing the blockchain (like maybe people at coinbase) see that you got paid from someone on the darkweb, or maybe someone paid you bitcoins he received from a gambling website; you could be denied to cash out and also your coinbase account could be frozen.

That in it's self is where people should be concerned.  It is a very slippery slope to go from preventing people online gambling (like in the US), to totally censoring Bitcoin or censoring people who are donating for a cause they believe in (i.e. Wikileaks, etc.)

[darkangel11]

I think the quote is very accurate. It's worth mentioning that postal service continue to work over 30 years after emails started to become popular.
People who think bitcoin will destroy the banking system are dreaming, but it will change it, that's for sure.

[Valiance]

This is interesting, because it takes into account the possibility that banks would still exist with a changed purpose.

Letters are still used, but for more formal purposes and separate occasions, so there are many ways that we could interpret this quote beyond just the destruction of the banking system as we know it.  These things take time and will always have their appropriate limits.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

This was a thread some time ago, and I kind of have to disagree.  It sure doesn't look like bitcoin is going to take off as a currency--an investment, yes, and it's great for that, but as a currency it sucks.

Also, the USPS is still very much alive even though it can't seem to manage its money.  My understanding is that that's due to its pension fund, which is overfunded.  I still mail stuff all the time.  Letters, bills, etc.  But I'm old-school like that.  The internet/e-mail most assuredly did not put them out of business.

[McWorse]

Bitcoin is not important. 18.000.000.000 are a wet fart in global economics. But the technic is important. More: The assimilation of the technic for control. What's leading us straight to the question:
Which CCurrency has the best setup to kick that goal?

[joe101]

good luck getting all of the banks in the world to work together,

most likely won't happen, they all want to be #1 in the world,

i like that quote,  bitcoin is truly changing the world as we speak,

the fact that kids can open a bitcoin wallet is a win right there,

try opening a bank account alone without your parents

i wish i was a teenager now, i could of been making money online and getting paid in bitcoins,

paypal is as bad as bank,

im glad im part of this bitcoin,

[jakelyson]

There is a possibility that this will come true. It may cripple the banks, or it can kill it altogether. But I think this will take a lot of time before it can happen. First, the government will protect the banks and fiat so it will be a long fight. The government may even ban bitcoin just to protect the banks.

[Dimelord]

Full quote :

Hey !

I would like to have your opinions on this quote. I don't think this is implying that banks will fail and disapear ( the postal industry is still running well ) but banks will have to adapt to crypto currencies. What will be their plan to not be overwhelmed by Bitcoins and altcoins ? Do they take it as a serious treat ?

Thanks in advance for all your opinions guys  

Definitely, Bitcoin would affect banking sectors severely on a long term basis.Its already said Ripple coin is released only by banking sectors.Bankers should think of releasing their own digital currency in collaberation  with other banks.Otherwise,they would remain backward in the long run.

[Sundark]

I don't think we can compare email and postal industry to Bitcoin and Banks it's not that simple.
We don't see that television killed cinemas or radio stations, as many prophets were saying.
Bitcoin will be forever that alternative way of payment and will exist alongside of standard fully regulated financial institutions.

[hatshepsut93]

Full quote :

Hey !

I would like to have your opinions on this quote. I don't think this is implying that banks will fail and disapear ( the postal industry is still running well ) but banks will have to adapt to crypto currencies. What will be their plan to not be overwhelmed by Bitcoins and altcoins ? Do they take it as a serious treat ?

Thanks in advance for all your opinions guys  

Apples to oranges. Banks and fiat money are a huge part of governments power over people, giving up this kind of power would mean suicide for the government. The postal system is nothing compared to monetary system - one of the pillars of the government. And the internet actually opened new possibilities for surveillance, much deeper than tracking of letters. There is too many organized opposition against Bitcoin, and the number of true supporters is very small. If you look at the posts on this forum, everyone say "save your bitcoins", yet no one tells to use it as money.

[Reid]

I think it will banks against website wallets and bitcoin to fiat.
But i think you are really implying that.
There will be a lot of changes with banks once bitcoin is established throughout the world.
I thinj they will be the one who will be adjusting and might consider doing it also.
They keep on telling they will make their own blockchain but still they will have to deal to the threat with bitcoin.

[20kevin20]

I don't think any banks have started to worry about bitcoin yet, actually they are trying to make their network more secure and better using the blockchain technology bitcoin have introduced.
Bitcoin will not be able to replace banks in the same way, email have replaced postal industry.

Bitcoin keeps increasing in the total market cap and this is bad for the banks and govs. But they don't have what to do, in my opinion. What they'll probably try is creating a replica of Bitcoin that would work with USD, EUR and other currencies, so turning them into virtual currencies. I would never change to them because I know they'd be controlled by the elites and the only change would be transferring your funds from physical to virtual which is even worse.. BTC is like Gold right now and that's how it should stay, no matter where the price gets to.

[joe101]

I would never change to them because I know they'd be controlled by the elites

Me either! Our eyes have been opened,

We have been introduced to a decentralized currency,

We will never go backwards, 

[btcjoin14]

That concept makes plenty of sense that the average computer user won't understand. Bitcoin is merely another method of spending money with another person that has a Bitcoin Client as well. If more people just use Bitcoin then there wouldn't be any need for the companies that work in-between Banks and Customers/Businesses because people could just spend their money whenever they please if they have it already with them.

Bitcoin could also be Incorporated with Email as well, like how the company 21 did with their email though they didn't get much recognition on that system.

[RoommateAgreement]

new technologies such as bitcoin are considered revolutionary and these things take time to become widespread because of it. people always have a hard time adopting these type of technology.
but when they are adopted and over the first initial phase then the process speeds up and you can see adoption everywhere.

[Capradina]

I disagree on this one, I mean the statement could become true but they simply won't let us. The banking system is exactly what's controlling the governments nowadays while emails are totally under the control of the governments so there is no reason for them to stop it while having bitcoin (which is decentralized) used by people and leaving the banking system (centralized and control by them) is a threat for them.

Yeah, basically a bank is a place that control all funds that exist in every State (Government). If the bitcoin replacing bank, then it could be a great disaster to the country. Because they can't fully control the funding that goes in the bitcoin, and also the bitcoin is a digital currency and bitcoin can also be used by everyone
 

[Subrojit Roy]

Emails have replaced the old postal system as email services are more flexible to use than postal services were but when it comes to bank and bitcoin money can be paid or transacted by phone itself. Many people will still use bank services as their money is already in their bank account and when it comes to bitcoin they would ave to buy it or earn it again and bitcoin is still not accepted everywhere. So until bitcoin isn't accepted in all places banks will have no problem in running.

[nara1892]

Full quote :

Hey !

I would like to have your opinions on this quote. I don't think this is implying that banks will fail and disapear ( the postal industry is still running well ) but banks will have to adapt to crypto currencies. What will be their plan to not be overwhelmed by Bitcoins and altcoins ? Do they take it as a serious treat ?

Thanks in advance for all your opinions guys  

you are right that postal industry still runs well, but people who use the service to send messages decreases. in this point of view, I think bitcoin will not do the same thing because we can see that fiat is used around the world, even bitcoin is getting adopted by many people, but I think there are some bitcoin user still own fiat. so I think it's 50:50