[duskwuff]

> 1. Money can be transferred from one person to another without intermediaries such as banks.

By replacing them with the intermediary of cryptocurrency exchanges and the blockchain itself - both of which charge fees on transfers which are often significantly higher than traditional banks. Is this actually a benefit?

> 2. It provides an alternative to hyper-inflating currencies in places like Venezuela.

Can you point to any evidence that cryptocurrency is actually used as a medium of exchange within these countries? Or is it primarily a means of capital flight?

WRT. negative social costs, I'd add that the anonymous and irreversible nature of cryptocurrency transactions leaves consumers with little to no recourse if they're scammed or make a mistake.

[disqard]

> By replacing them with the intermediary of cryptocurrency exchanges and the blockchain itself - both of which charge fees on transfers which are often significantly higher than traditional banks. Is this actually a benefit?

Your puny brain can't grasp the 4D chess here... it's just like how those Federal agencies are so bloated, that completely bypassing them will fix everything (hint: follow the money -- who's going to get rich when they replace the "bloated" middleman with their own infrastructure? In the case of crypto, it rhymes with boin-case).

[mrbombastic]

Can’t speak for Venezuela but I know it is fairly common in Argentina to use crypto for currency exchange and a hedge against inflation. Not sure about straight commerce but sure it happens as well.