[lazide]

I didn’t say cash didn’t require institutions somewhere. Cash creation (physical), and cash into and out of the system requires institutions.

Cash transactions do not, so spending, receiving, and if one is crazy storage can be done without institutions.

That hypothetical $10k transaction for instance only sets alarm bells off if it’s an abnormal transaction for an individual account.

Someone doing a cash business is going to do stuff like that so much, it’s a drop in the bucket and no one cares. Coin shops, check cashing places, certain types of convenience stores and restaurants, etc.

If they manage the cash themselves instead of a cash drop, such as if they are a dispensary and are unbanked, a given dollar bill can circulate a very long time before touching a bank, depending on which parts of the economy it touches.

The reality is it isn’t super hard to launder funds apparently, so it ends up back in a bank somewhere soon, but with the intermediary transactions hidden.