DigiCash collapsed due to centralized architecture—single point of failure killed it. The fix was decentralization, but decentralized protocols can't hold bank accounts.

Hashcash became $BTC's foundation because proof-of-work created digital scarcity without trusted intermediaries. No central issuer = no counterparty risk. PoW turns energy into unforgeable cost, making supply manipulation economically irrational.

This is why $BTC works and DigiCash didn't—decentralized settlement with provable scarcity beats centralized issuance every time.