Did you realize in real life how Bitcoin gave us financial freedom?

[The Cryptovator]

Everyone knows how Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency and gives us financial freedom. I am wondering how did you realize that in real life that Bitcoin gave us financial freedom? This isn't a question, this is curiosity.

When I realized? And why? Let's describe it shortly.
A few days back I went to the bank to withdraw my deposit. That amount wasn't much big though, but the bank just asked me many questions. And surprisingly all were fucking questions. They asked me why do I need to withdraw and where will I spend. This happened first time with me since I was abroad for a long time. Then I realize how Bitcoin gave us financial freedom. No one is there asking me the question to spend my fund. How fucking centralized banking system even you have to encounter many questions during withdrawal your funds. They are asking questions like I am beger. This was my real file realization of how Bitcoin gives us financial freedom.

What about it, when did you realize in real life Bitcoin is giving us financial freedom?

[Charles-Tim]

Never mind. You still meant privacy, not financial freedom. Financial freedom is when someone is not relying on debt but having the money needed to move on in life.

This has never happened to me before, but it can also dawn to be happying in my country. But anytime I want to spend money using my banking app, it always needed to fill in the reason for spending. I always put in 'business' for the reason and no further question. It can get to the extent that could be beyond expected and more privacy invading.

Fiat is completely centralized, designed and operated by centralized bodies. The governments will all the time look for their means to inavde people's privacy in the name of anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing. With fiat, there is no privacy.

[cabron]

Never mind. You still meant privacy, not financial freedom. Financial freedom is when someone is not relying on debt but having the money needed to move on in life.

This has never happened to me before, but it can also dawn to be happying in my country. But anytime I want to spend money using my banking app, it always needed to fill in the reason for spending. I always put in 'business' for the reason and no further question. It can get to the extent that could be beyond expected and more privacy invading.

Fiat is completely centralized, designed and operated by centralized bodies. The governments will all the time look for their means to inavde people's privacy in the name of anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing. With fiat, there is no privacy.

Having privacy is part of that freedom. just imagine the government of China summoning you because upon checking your bank account, you have huge funds they can't believe you earn from being a taxi driver.

I'm still not experiencing financial freedom like I have everything and can live far without the need for help from my siblings. They are always there to help me when I got sick and no one else pays my medical expenses. I'd probably feel financial freedom if I have an investment that will give me dividends monthly of about $20K a month. Unfortunately, I have no investment like that.

[Charles-Tim]

Having privacy is part of that freedom.

I wasn't totally absolute about it because it's true I still have to mention freedom. Privacy is a subset of freedom.

[kryptqnick]

I know that banks can be annoying, but I guess it really depends on a country and on a particular bank. The most popular bank in my country is actually pretty chill about things like that. You can come in with a couple of thousands of dollars and just say that you want to deposit them to your account, and they'll simply do it without asking anything about the source of the money (well, at least if it's a rather rare thing for you to do). You can also withdraw a similar amount very simply by making an online request for them to prepare a certain amount of money for you in a certain bank department that you'll visit, and they also ask no questions. But I'm not sure what you meant by the amount not being much, and if it's significantly for than what I described, I don't know what would have happened in my case. I do agree that it's great that using Bitcoin doesn't require thinking about this stuff and answering questions, but there's also a huge downside: it's not really financial freedom if you aren't free to use Bitcoin wherever you like. I know it's not its fault, but the amount of places where you can spend Bitcoin is still very limited.

[qwertyup23]

<snip...>
What about it, when did you realize in real life Bitcoin is giving us financial freedom?

I think it was the time when I bought something using bitcoin via p2p exchanges. I mean, some people do treat BTC as a form of asset or currency but the restrictions imposed on banking (like the one you mentioned on your example) makes it more difficult to experience financial freedom.

I remember back in 2018, my friend referred me someone who was looking for BTC in exchange for his products and electronics. I quickly grab the opportunity since he was selling it at a discounted price. After our transaction, it made me realize that what nothing was hindering us from exchanging.

[pinggoki]

The moment that I was able to buy stuff for myself without any worries of how much I am going to spend, I think that it's that time that I have experienced financial freedom. And I think that everyone have felt it early when they've made profit from bitcoin either from hodling or being there since day one.

[noorman0]

-snip-
it's not really financial freedom if you aren't free to use Bitcoin wherever you like. I know it's not its fault, but the amount of places where you can spend Bitcoin is still very limited.

I like your last thought.
I used to voice the opinion that "bitcoin is freedom and fiat is slavery" under all my social media profiles. I immediately stopped when I realized that the slogan was not appropriate to be voiced in my country. In fact, to this day I still can't do anything more with bitcoin, other than hold it or exchange it to fiat through the bank first before spending it.

[fiulpro]

It's not about financial freedom always, sometimes it's about the ease of transactions, it's about how easily you are able to take it out and how long it does take for you to transfer.

For me I always need to take out my university fee, since I live abroad, the amount of time it takes is honestly not good. Therefore at the end of the day, usually I have to use Bitcoins now and then, ik volatility might be taken as a negative factor but if we consider the amount you will pay for: bank charges+ withdrawal charges+ currency conversion, it all comes out to me less for sure and the amount of time it takes is like 3 hours and for normal bank transfer sometimes I wait for like 3-4 days.

I don't really think that the government is doing better in this banking sector, these things have been here forever and therefore I do think that If they are not willing to make advancements in the same, people will find a way, and they did, that's *bitcoins* for you.

[Lucius]

I don't know if I would call it financial freedom, maybe some kind of financial security and independence from banks in the sense that no one will set any conditions for you if you want to send a certain amount of BTC to another person. Of course, I mean the case where a person has complete control over Bitcoin through a non-custodial wallet.

However, having a BTC does not mean literally being independent, because in some countries it is very difficult or almost impossible to pay something with a BTC, or convert it into fiat. Not everything is as simple as it seems.

Banks don't do a lot of things on their own, they are forced to ask for more and more information and I know from personal experience that people who work there are not very comfortable when they have to ask all this. The same is true with crypto exchanges, which are under enormous pressure to work on more detailed KYC for their clients, who, like bank clients, sometimes feel like criminals who have to prove they are not criminals or finance terrorism. Unfortunately, Bitcoin is still quite dependent on the system to which it should be an alternative.

[Ultegra134]

Never faced it with banking services, not sure where you're from, though. However, it has happened to me twice, on PayPal. I was asked to justify earnings from doing a variety of tasks, or even selling stuff from eBay. Got my account locked for quite a while, till I provided them with any necessary documents, while having to phone them twice, in the USA.

The best thing about cryptocurrencies is that I don't have to account for anything, I've got my wallets, hidden from public view of the usual services, which I'm using to save money.

[teosanru]

Everyone knows how Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency and gives us financial freedom. I am wondering how did you realize that in real life that Bitcoin gave us financial freedom? This isn't a question, this is curiosity.

When I realized? And why? Let's describe it shortly.
A few days back I went to the bank to withdraw my deposit. That amount wasn't much big though, but the bank just asked me many questions. And surprisingly all were fucking questions. They asked me why do I need to withdraw and where will I spend. This happened first time with me since I was abroad for a long time. Then I realize how Bitcoin gave us financial freedom. No one is there asking me the question to spend my fund. How fucking centralized banking system even you have to encounter many questions during withdrawal your funds. They are asking questions like I am beger. This was my real file realization of how Bitcoin gives us financial freedom.

What about it, when did you realize in real life Bitcoin is giving us financial freedom?

I think this isn't a very nice comparison, because such questions generally come in only when you try to withdraw cash from your bank and would not come when you try to make any online transactions or you try to do any transactions through cheque. Financial freedom moreover is something else, it's not the freedom to spend your money without telling anyone instead it's about not working every day for money in your life and focusing on other important aspects of your life. I think I realized this only when I was able to focus on the qualitative aspects of crypto that no matter which coin you invest in if the project or the idea is good it will definitely run one day.

[Victorik]

That's the benefit of a decentralized system. No one gets to control how you spend your funds. But in a centralized system, too many stringent measures just to frustrate your frustrations.

[famososMuertos]

At the beginning of the 21st century I really had the "joy"  or something with e-wallets, but before mentioning my experience related to e-wallets, because as you mentioned well, traditional banking bothers you, the most recent experience was the simple fact of going to request a new debit card because I lost it, things like having to update the residence information, etc, a ridiculous paperwork that cannot even be updated online you have to bring them copies, the most ridiculous thing is that it is easier for me to change my credit card than a debit card, I don't understand it, but there is too much bureaucracy that is not only backward, annoying, but invader, actually, as we already know.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I got involved in the early age of electronic purses, things like PayPal, Neteller by to working conditions were always important to me, and they were really a solution because they allowed me to move my finances with certain advantages, but nevertheless the KYC and always being conditioned to a ToS update sometimes up to twice a year was really a "stone in the shoes" although they were a solution for my financial movements, they were not a choice by conviction but by condition.

So when I met bitcoin was a choice by conviction to my forced condition financial, it is not the absolute yet and I do not think it is necessary but without a doubt it is an alternative that offers a relief of freedom to access your funds and handle them as you want.

[freedomgo]

That's the benefit of a decentralized system. No one gets to control how you spend your funds. But in a centralized system, too many stringent measures just to frustrate your frustrations.

Exactly. The only real financial freedom can only be experience with bitcoin. And i did experience that whenever i withraw funds from a certain money center. The teller seems to be very inconsiderate already with my privacy and she just keeps on repeating asking me what will be the purpose of my funds and where will these go. So its like there's no privacy at all since the clients are required to answer their questions which i think is very useless after all. With bitcoin, although KYC is there, but its definitely more better than with centralized money centers.

[Upgrade00]

A few days back I went to the bank to withdraw my deposit. That amount wasn't much big though, but the bank just asked me many questions. And surprisingly all were fucking questions. They asked me why do I need to withdraw and where will I spend.

That is their idea of providing security to their customers, it might be an invasive process, but it is the current situation we are at now; Similar to how websites would ask you to confirm you are not a robot if they identify suspicious activity. A controlled system is not the direct problem, but as with the internet, one needs to have an option to keep their privacy, especially if they feel they can properly handle their security and do not trust the centralized system.

I have personally not had a personal unfavorable encounter with banks, but being able to privately hold funds and transact is a major perk of holding bitcoin, considering that money is a major tool used to control the masses. Also, being able to send money internationally and have it delivered within moments without any third party.

[sunsilk]

That's really the usual thing the bank goes even if we're going to withdraw a not so huge amount. They need each detail as per records for them to put it on their database. I remember there was a time that I've put it on the form when I was asked where the deposit came from and I've said bitcoin.

The teller doesn't seem to know it and I don't know if she just ignored it or included it. And to date, that bank where I've done that deposit is now one of the strictest banks that don't allow crypto transactions.

Really such situations make us realize how fortunate we are that we're the ones who are holding our money.

[palle11]

We all are aware that banks are regulated by agency and government which makes it centralised. Any financial system that is centralised means it is controlled. If banks ask for how much you want to withdraw or how to spend it, it is more of craving into someone's privacy and bitcoin isn't regulated, therefore no such issues as limitation would arise. The only limitation is that exchanges are trying to force some kind of kyc on users and limiting the amount of btc  daily withdrawal.

[hatshepsut93]

Maybe one day you will be happy that banks ask those questions, because hackers will try to drain your bank account, and these measures will stop them. Unlike with Bitcoin, where one mistake, one wrong click can cost you all your money. Because Bitcoin's independence doesn't come for free, it also brings a huge responsibility, the responsibility that most people are, let's be honest, not fit to take, as they use "qwerty123" as their password on all sites and click on random links and spam emails, and download software from the first result of a Google search.

And not everyone is having negative experiences with banks. In fact, most people probably don't, because otherwise there would be higher use of the alternatives, not only crypto but also things like PayPal or Venmo. I this year had to do some fairly large transactions, and I didn't mind that my bank had me to jump through some hoops, because I don't do such transactions every day. It means that someone can't just hijack my sim and drain all my bank account.

[Wexnident]

Didn't really happen to me tbh. I've always considered banks to be something bad but helpful at the same time? It's like adding those qol changes in a game where you won't exactly see it immediately, but as long as you keep playing, they'd pop up here and there and you'd realize how damn helpful those changes actually were. I've also rarely spent my Bitcoin, and times I did were times I just realized they had an option, so I wanted to try it. I'm guessing they asked for a reason, meaning centralization is there for a reason. Same with Bitcoin being made and used by others, in the end it's really a matter of preference ig?