For most of my life, I accepted the financial system the way people accept gravity. It was simply there. You worked, you saved, you paid your taxes, and you trusted that the institutions handling your money were doing so in your best interest. I never questioned whether the system itself was designed to serve me or whether it was designed to extract from me. Crypto forced me to confront that question, and once I did, there was no unseeing the answer.

Traditional fiat banking presents itself as a stabilizing force. In reality, it has become an expensive intermediary that thrives on complexity, opacity, and dependency. Every transaction, every transfer, every delay carries a fee, sometimes visible, often hidden.

According to recent estimates, the amount of capital flowing through the global banking system between 2019 and 2024 expanded dramatically, rising by roughly $122 trillion as household and institutional wealth surged worldwide. Over the same period, banks generated record earnings, with revenues climbing to about $5.5 trillion and net income reaching an unprecedented $1.2 trillion, marking the most profitable stretch the industry has ever seen.

Financial services generate trillions of dollars annually in transaction, processing, and administrative fees, costs ultimately borne by individuals and businesses rather than institutions themselves. That money does not create products, services, or innovation. It simply moves money from one place to another and charges for the privilege.

At the same time, fiat currency itself is losing purchasing power at a pace that can no longer be dismissed as cyclical. According to reports, inflation over the past several years has affected household budgets, eroding........

© International Business Times