Bank Passbooks Are Just Proof of Bank Liabilities—Understanding BTC Requires Understanding the Credit Contract
In front of the bank counter, that thin little passbook once made the young author repeatedly ask a seemingly naïve but core question: What if I want to withdraw money and the bank won’t give it to me? After adulthood, that intuition only became sharper. We’re accustomed to equating “deposits” with “ownership,” as if there were truly a dedicated drawer in the bank vault holding our banknotes. However, the essence of the financial system is not physical custody, but a credit contract. When you deposit funds, the bank records its liability to you—not the physical safekeeping of the assets. You can request redemption according to the contract, but you can’t physically enter the vault and withdraw on your own. This sense of security doesn’t come from the document in your hand; it comes from an entire set of widely recognized social contracts and a framework of public authority behind it.
Follow me—my next post is a quick scan of the market so you won’t miss anything.
In front of the bank counter, that thin little passbook once made the young author repeatedly ask a seemingly naïve but core question: What if I want to withdraw money and the bank won’t give it to me? After adulthood, that intuition only became sharper. We’re accustomed to equating “deposits” with “ownership,” as if there were truly a dedicated drawer in the bank vault holding our banknotes. However, the essence of the financial system is not physical custody, but a credit contract. When you deposit funds, the bank records its liability to you—not the physical safekeeping of the assets. You can request redemption according to the contract, but you can’t physically enter the vault and withdraw on your own. This sense of security doesn’t come from the document in your hand; it comes from an entire set of widely recognized social contracts and a framework of public authority behind it.
Follow me—my next post is a quick scan of the market so you won’t miss anything.