Anybody here trying to live bankless (using Bitcoin / cryptocurrencies)?

[Naida_BR]

I have made huge efforts in order to live bankless.
However, society is build upon banks. If you have a job you have to have a bank account in order to get paid. I tried to find a job in the crypto industry but it is not so much evolved so I couldn't continue for long.

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[peter0425]

while my wish i can do that yet i can't because the best way to transfer money from my Crypto wallet is thru Bank and that is what i can say and also i have some transaction that cannot be processed using Crypto so Banks is the only way as well.

I have made huge efforts in order to live bankless.
However, society is build upon banks. If you have a job you have to have a bank account in order to get paid. I tried to find a job in the crypto industry but it is not so much evolved so I couldn't continue for long.

Lol it depend on your country in which if they are allowed to use crypto or not and thats the Only problem where you cannot have  a bankless like like what i'm  having now.

[gantez]

It is impossible to live bankless in my country. Here, Bitcoin isn't allowed to be a payment tool, so how can we live without banks. We must use fiats to pay for everything, so our Bitcoin must be converted into fiats. And we know, fiats are made by banks. It means as long as we use fiats, we cannot live without banks.  (No idea to live bankless here, mate. At least for now)

I'm trying to see the possibllity buying and selling without bank or cash. Some countries are yet to use bitcoin while others have. It will be difficult especially to illiterate societies because of the processes of use.

[abhiseshakana]

Isnt the idea kind of difficult to realize? The idea itself is nice but since the idea itself is separating yourself from the norm, doesn't that mean some aspects of life might prove to be inaccessible to you? I mean, it might depend from country to country but generally, that would be the problems encountered by the idea of living bankless. The issue itself most probably lies on the fact that there's not much support with regards to cryptocurrency usage in most aspects of life, and not to mention the required identifications in normal cases.

Not flaming the idea or anything, but if you were to try to live bankless, the idea of cryptocurrency needs to be idealized. Not in just a single country but rather globally and it needs to be recognized as an identity similar to what a fiat does. I used cryptos to pay in the past but that was mostly for items I bought online. I've never really used them to pay items that are paid every month like rents and bills.

The key that needs to be understood is banking is good but the bank is devil. Banking 5.0 has emerged, namely banking services provided by non-bank institutions. Because banks are bad institutions, as much as possible we minimize activities that bring profits to banks. For example, not saving money in a bank, even if we have a lot of money we should save it in a safe deposit box or be invested through equity-based equity funding.

I do not know in other countries, in Indonesia that Islamic banks have begun to emerge, many of which operate using cooperation agreements on revenue sharing rather than interest systems. In addition, many housing developers provide home purchase credit facilities using the Islamic concept. Without fines, without confiscation and if in the middle of the agreement we fail to pay, the money already paid will be returned 100%. In the Islamic view, bank interest is a grave sin along with the growth of Muslims throughout the world of awareness to avoid banks also increasing.

We have to reverse our mindset, not we who need banks but banks that need our money. So far we have been doctrines and made dependent on institutions called banks. When our position as a customer determines the bank will be able to transform from margin oriented to service-oriented. Our actions simultaneously or slowly not to save our money in the bank, not borrowing money in the bank will create a new market for service-oriented banks.

[RealMalatesta]

The closest I can tell you is, I never had a credit card and I never taken out a loan before, so I can say that I have never ever owned any bank in my life. That is personally of course, my wife has a credit card and I am lucky enough to pay that... lol.

So I kinda do pay the banks, but I do keep my own personal banks always debt free, which I really cherish, I know it may sound like "well your wife has one" is like a loophole thing, but its actually quite smart to keep one of you debt free and one of you paying their debt constantly. That way when it comes to taking out a loan one day (hope never happens) I can take out a huge loan for both reasons. I obviously would want to live my life debt free on both sides if I can afford it but sometimes life is just too expensive.

[gentlemand]

The key that needs to be understood is banking is good but the bank is devil. Banking 5.0 has emerged, namely banking services provided by non-bank institutions. Because banks are bad institutions, as much as possible we minimize activities that bring profits to banks. For example, not saving money in a bank, even if we have a lot of money we should save it in a safe deposit box or be invested through equity-based equity funding.

In Europe many people have moved their banking to app based companies. As far as I can tell they are strong downgrade from your normal bank. The amount of people who get cut off from their money for no reason with no way of contacting any humans seems huge.

Since a normal bank still has a handful of physical locations left at least you can go there and blow them up.

[d5000]

I asked my employer to give me 30% of my salary in Bitcoin, because I use and also hoard almost 30% of my salary in Bitcoin in any way.[...]The volatility is cancelled if I use payment processors and if the price increase since I received my salary. Those bitcoins I did not use increase in value, so it makes up for some of the fees and visa versa if the price drop.  

That's actually a good workaround for today's situation. If Bitcoin crashed 50% down (which would be already extreme), you would lose 15%, which may hurt but not break you. And as you write, the probability that Bitcoin goes up is at least not much lower than that it goes down.

Not flaming the idea or anything, but if you were to try to live bankless, the idea of cryptocurrency needs to be idealized. Not in just a single country but rather globally and it needs to be recognized as an identity similar to what a fiat does.

The problem is that this "idealization" (I think you mean adoption?) will come only if companies and merchants can find a reason to accept them. They will only accept Bitcoin if there are enough users and the risk is manageable.

So the pioneers - those who live bankless or use Bitcoin for all payments they can - can definitively contribute if they don't only hoard the Bitcoins but also use them. This way they can slowly rise the competitiveness of businesses who accept Bitcoin, which again would bring in some new merchants/businesses accepting it. "Wanting to hodl" is not a good excuse, because one can always re-buy the BTC spent on payments on an exchange.

[fullhdpixel]

I make use of Bitcoin and Ethereum for some of the transactions I make these days, and also for holding part of my savings (as investment?). But, I have no plans to go bankless, I still make use of my bank, I don't see anything wrong with making use of both of them.

Whenever I want to make local transactions, I go for the mobile banking, and when I want to make international transactions I make use of cryptocurrency or PayPal and similar payment methods. But as for recently, I have been steady making use of cryptocurrency for international transactions. Bank is far much better when it's for local transactions, it's instant and the charges are very small.

[Ailurophile]

I tried it before but decided that I need a bank account to make it easier for me to get my crypto into cash or vice versa.
But I think there would be some who would try to consider this if they have some easy way to convert their crypto into cash or the other way around.

[Hasan905]

I vote for - Would like, but it's difficult.

See, when i convert my BTC/ETH (crypto) i always use my bank account to take my local currency from that buyer. Also if i want to pay my university fees, it never will accept crypto as replace of my Local currency and we pay it mostly by Pay-order system, so there i need a bank for that. Again if i want to pay my home-Tex, electricity/gas/water bill, i will need a bank for that.

Yes, its possible to live bank-less, if your county fully supporting crypto, otherwise its not seem possible to live bank-less.

[Renampun]

I really want to do it but I think it's difficult for now...
the fact is very difficult for bankless, right now I am still in debt at the bank for buying a house, so I not bankless.

I make use of Bitcoin and Ethereum for some of the transactions I make these days, and also for holding part of my savings (as investment?). But, I have no plans to go bankless, I still make use of my bank, I don't see anything wrong with making use of both of them.

Whenever I want to make local transactions, I go for the mobile banking, and when I want to make international transactions I make use of cryptocurrency or PayPal and similar payment methods. But as for recently, I have been steady making use of cryptocurrency for international transactions. Bank is far much better when it's for local transactions, it's instant and the charges are very small.

I am used to borrowing from banks, so the arrangement is easy for me, and for local transaction fees, I agree with you.

[Oilacris]

I make use of Bitcoin and Ethereum for some of the transactions I make these days, and also for holding part of my savings (as investment?). But, I have no plans to go bankless, I still make use of my bank, I don't see anything wrong with making use of both of them.

Whenever I want to make local transactions, I go for the mobile banking, and when I want to make international transactions I make use of cryptocurrency or PayPal and similar payment methods. But as for recently, I have been steady making use of cryptocurrency for international transactions. Bank is far much better when it's for local transactions, it's instant and the charges are very small.

When it comes to fees then its comparable thats why usage will vary either it would be local or international.I have the same behavior on using these things
neither crypto or my own bank accounts.Even i do appreciate nor love crypto but it cant really tie or close up on what fiat system could give in terms of convenience
but ofcourse crypto do have its advantage too.They are on the same line but crypto would really be just good for optional matters and i do still
stick to my bank in most cases.

[d5000]

But I think there would be some who would try to consider this if they have some easy way to convert their crypto into cash or the other way around.

This seems to be an important issue: From what I read in the thread so far, the few people who really live bankless (or almost bankless) deal a lot with traditional fiat cash. It's also the experience I see in my country: There are several older people here who still live almost 100% on cash - so they could be called almost "bankless" people, with one exception: they get their pensions in banks, so they depend on them.

But what's important for our thread here is that services that convert cash to crypto and vice versa seem to be crucial for the "unbanked". So maybe a list of cash-to-crypto exchange services per country would be a good idea. There are already lists for Bitcoin ATMs, but these are only available in some countries and often have KYC procedures which are not easily fullfillable by people without access to a bank account.

Obviously, a decentralized cash-to-crypto network would be even better. We have LocalBitcoins and other platforms for that, but a thing many people worry about are robberies and scams. And people who sell and buy Bitcoin via personal encounters only are available in few cities. So the challenge remains how cash could be delivered without having to rely on personal encounters. There are ways to mail cash (via traditional postal services and specialized services like Western Union), but in some countries they're unsafe.

I added a question about cash usage to the OP, so this issue can be discussed.

[countryfree]

For what? What i will get if start to live bankless?

Independence.

Really?
How about spreading your wealth around the world? That 's a good way to become independent. I've been doing it successfully for 20 years. You're only dependent if you live your full life in the same country, with a single home and a single bank account. Travel everywhere, and you'll become independent, as banks will see you as a non-resident customer who can move without notice.

[d5000]

For what? What i will get if start to live bankless?

Independence.

Really?
How about spreading your wealth around the world? [...]Travel everywhere, and you'll become independent, as banks will see you as a non-resident customer who can move without notice.

I doubt that's an option for many people of the groups I mentioned. Those from the middle class upwards - which could afford to travel everywhere like you suggest - generally do not have many problems with banks. For them, living bankless is completely optional (in the present situation). They won't be rejected nor get their account canceled for insignificant reasons.

The problems with banks arise mostly for people from the lower middle class downwards. If there was a reliable crypto-based solution which could replace a bank account, they'll be much better off than living mostly with cash and prepaid cards. (Let's be realistic, I don't think Bitcoin is an option now and in the next years for the poorest 20% of the world population, but between percentile 20 and 60 roughly, I see a big potential.)

[MCobian]

To be honest, I really want to live without a bank, and I want to use bitcoin for payment. But it is prohibited to use bitcoin as payment
by the government in my country, so I still use the bank. It's hard to live without using a bank, I hope in the future bitcoin is legalized
as a global currency. So that my country can accept bitcoin as payment. I have try to use bitcoin to buy items from abroad on the internet.
It feels so good.

[Negotiation]

It is impossible to live bankless in my country. Here, Bitcoin isn't allowed to be a payment tool, so how can we live without banks. We must use fiats to pay for everything, so our Bitcoin must be converted into fiats. And we know, fiats are made by banks. It means as long as we use fiats, we cannot live without banks.  (No idea to live bankless here, mate. At least for now)

I'm trying to see the possibllity buying and selling without bank or cash. Some countries are yet to use bitcoin while others have. It will be difficult especially to illiterate societies because of the processes of use.

I agree with you there are still many societies where there has been no touch of improvement and no banking system has been introduced In that case, they use their money without banks. The people of developed countries are accustomed to using banking methods. Even if it seems like a problem to them it will not have much effect on the poor people of the society I think it is very impossible to be bankless to use bitcoin and crypto.

[panganib999]

Yes I do want to live bankless which uses Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for my daily basis but even if I do want to, I can't because here in my country, even our national bank is not supporting the usage of cryptocurrencies even though it is not illegal but we must just use it for our own risk. Also, here in my country, we poorly lack of cryptocurrency adaptability so even we want to use cryptocurrency to purchase our needs, we cannot do it directly because we are still relying into a fiat system which is cash based. Adaptability is the main problem I have which prohibits me to freely use my cryptos and go bankless because cash is the main currency that is available here in my country which can be considered a reason why I do need bank account of my own.

[CaVO32]

Yes I do want to live bankless which uses Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for my daily basis but even if I do want to, I can't because here in my country, even our national bank is not supporting the usage of cryptocurrencies even though it is not illegal but we must just use it for our own risk. Also, here in my country, we poorly lack of cryptocurrency adaptability so even we want to use cryptocurrency to purchase our needs, we cannot do it directly because we are still relying into a fiat system which is cash based. Adaptability is the main problem I have which prohibits me to freely use my cryptos and go bankless because cash is the main currency that is available here in my country which can be considered a reason why I do need bank account of my own.

Aside from that, there are situations that you still need your bank account like for example, if you are an employee, most employers prefer to send monthly salary via your bank account. And if you are dealing with government transactions or taking any kind of loan, most of the time, financial transactions go thru with banks. So right now, you can't go 100% bankless because a lot of financial transactions are still confined within the jurisdiction of banks.

[adzino]

Maybe you should combine option 1 and 2. I would love to avoid the banks, but that is impossible for me right now and I do need the banks. I receive all kinds of payments through my bank account and it is the only "legal" way for me. I don't think as long as bitcoin is considered a legal tender, I won't be able to avoid the usage of banks.
Maybe in the future, a new crypto currency (and probably government owned and regulated) will be available that will totally replace the usage of banking insitution.