If I cared about Bitcoin I would do this

[evoorhees]

I don't understand this sentiment - the allure of Bitcoin isn't that it is always decentralized, it's that it can be if you want it to. You decide the level of trust you want to have. If you trust almost no one, you run a full Bitcoin client connected to a few trusted nodes. A step up from that, you're running a chain-less client that has to trust wherever it gets it's balances from. Continue up the ladder until you reach whatever Bitcoin will eventually call banks.

+100  Thank you elggawf! I don't know why it's so hard for people to understand that crucial point! Bitcoin's prime strength is that it is decentralized by default, but naturally (and thankfully) businesses will be created around which Bitcoin coagulates. This does not diminish the decentralized nature of Bitcoin, because there is never a point where one MUST surrender control to a centralized entity. This distinction is crucial.

Long-term, there will absolutely be Bitcoin banks with user accounts. Every Bitcoin user gets to set his own risk/convenience threshold and act accordingly.

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[acoindr]

... Every Bitcoin user gets to set his own risk/convenience threshold and act accordingly.

+1 Yep.

[acoindr]

Isnt this exactly what Flexcoin actually is?

Yes, by becoming a U.S. corporation and with focus on security FlexCoin provides the two crucial elements of trust and responsibility any bank should have. The only thing more I'd ask is guaranteeing some level of coin loss, but they currently don't and state this clearly which is fine to start.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

After viewing a few of those Money=Debt videos on YouTube, I'm 100% against any central bank ideas in regards to Bitcoin. At the moment, I'm not against the exchanges, though my mind is still trying to wrap around that idea. My Opinion: Bank=No; Exchanges=On the Fence.

[evoorhees]

After viewing a few of those Money=Debt videos on YouTube, I'm 100% against any central bank ideas in regards to Bitcoin. At the moment, I'm not against the exchanges, though my mind is still trying to wrap around that idea. My Opinion: Bank=No; Exchanges=On the Fence.

Don't confuse central banks with banks as a service. A "proper" bank just means a safe place to store money - nothing wrong with that. A central bank, on the other hand, has the power to print and manipulate currency, control interest rates (the price of money), and often regulate other banks. Central banks are terrible, and only exist with government protection. In a free and open market, you'd never have a "central bank" but you'd likely have many banks all competing for customers and it's everyone's voluntary decision if they wish to partake of those services.