[jqpabc123]

But they don't control the cryptocurrencies themselves in any way.

Binance and Bitfinex have control over the one thing that matters most about Bitcoin --- the price. They exercise this control in the same way a central bank does --- they have access to an unlimited supply of "stablecoins" they can mint at will and use to buy/sell bitcoin as they see fit.

[spaceman0997]

The price isn't the thing that matters the most about Bitcoin...

What matters the most is that nobody can take my coins from my wallet if I don't want them to and that I can send the coins to anybody I want, however much I want and whenever I want.

[jqpabc123]

What matters the most is that nobody can take my coins from my wallet

Really? So it doesn't matter that the bitcoins in your wallet are now worth about 1/4 of what they were a few months ago?

Where did all that value go? My guess is a lot of it is sitting in fiat bank accounts someplace under the control of Binance and Bitfinex.

The numbers in your wallet may be the same but 3/4's of the value has been removed. You've been robbed and you don't even know it.

[setr]

That’s it’s utility as a currency. But the only reason you care about it being a currency in the first place is because of its purchasing power — value. Once it has value, then those properties are meaningful.

[infotogivenm]

I genuinely can’t tell if this is satire.