Part 4/10:
Yet gold isn't practical for everyday transactions. It requires middlemen—bank vaults and issuers—to convert into usable forms like coins or paper-backed notes. These middlemen, too, have historically manipulated systems—printing more gold-backed currency than they held or raiding vaults—introducing backdoors once again. Consequently, even gold, with its self-limited supply, has been compromised by trust issues.
The Challenge of Digital Money
The quest for a trustless digital currency has faced many failures. Digital money, in principle, is attractive but comes with a critical problem: the double spend problem. If digital currency can be copied and pasted like copying files, counterfeit money could flood the system, making traditional trust-based mechanisms essential.