Best-selling author and famous Canadian psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, who has over 4.6 million followers on X, initiated a conversation about the ‘unbanking’ movement and Bitcoin (BTC) as a tool to “scrap banks” on September 14.
Peterson’s comment came after reports surfaced in Australia that branches of Macquarie Bank were planning to “scrap cash, cheque, and phone payment services.”
It’s not only Australia that wants to do away with cash and other decentralized forms of currency. Most European nations restrict cash usage to lower value transactions, and Nigerian banks impose minimal withdrawal restrictions on their automated teller machines.
In this light, Jordan Peterson advocated for a break from traditional banking and questioned whether or not Bitcoin could “fix this” for those still seeking a cash-like experience with their finances.
surprisingly, the Canadian doctor had already shown a desire to use Bitcoin as a way to make global financial transactions easier. Later, Joe Nakamoto (@JoeNakamoto) showed him how to use Lightning Network custodial wallets to receive donations without borders instead of using the fiat-based GoFundMe services.
Many prominent Bitcoin proponents chimed in to answer Peterson’s question in the affirmative. The use of money is fraught with counterparty risk because of banks. When held privately, Bitcoin eliminates the need to worry about being scammed. This is why Bitcoin is the solution.
There were also crypto enthusiasts representing other networks, such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Nano (XNO), Monero (XMR), XRP Ledger (XRP), Dash (DASH), ZCash (ZCH), Litecoin (LTC), and Dogecoin (DOGE), who were interested in the proposed debate because they too aim to provide users with a cash-like experience through decentralized and non-custodial means.
Nonetheless, the argument attracted detractors like American presidential candidate Aaron Day in 2024: Absolutely not. 50–100 thousand transactions per second are possible in the current financial system. There is a 1.7 million TPS limit on the US CBDC experiment. A maximum of 7 TPS is possible using BTC. You should read up on BTC before spouting off about it.
Day is an outspoken advocate for the use of cryptocurrencies for cash-like transactions and a critic of CBDCs.
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