My wife asked me the other day, "What if I wanted to take all my money out of the bank, in cash?". I told her she would first need to talk to the bank and arrange for them to have that much cash on hand. Then she would need to fill out some federal forms. More and more people are starting to understand the value of decentralized digital currency since it gives you complete control of your money. As more people want to own at least one Bitcoin, or part of a Bitcoin, the price is going to go up.
I feel it's a safe bet that as the world financial crisis becomes more obvious, Bitcoin will become a much more popular way to secure investments. In the long run, volatility for fiat is going to be generally downward, and the volatility for decentralized digital currency will be generally upwards.
In the UK, you need to ring in advance, come with photo ID, and your bank may query why you need the cash and you may have to provide evidence for why you want to withdraw the amount. In addition to this, if the bank is not satisfied they can just straight out refuse and this has actually happened on a number of occasions. So much for the free movement of capital that an open economy should be based upon.
Amen brother... I tried getting some money out of my retirement account, and it's like going before the Spanish Inquisition to get your own money. Bitcoin is clearly a superior option with unlimited upside, and likely not much downside over the long term.
I also took some cash out of my bank to buy a car a few years ago, and they looked at me like I was from another planet when I told them I wanted cash. Had to wait 3 days for them to get the money, and then fill our a federal form. All this, and I'm not earning any interest. So I'm not sure what the advantage is keeping your money in a bank? Being able to write checks?
I think it won't be much longer before Bitcoin is considered a mainstream way to pay and receive money.
"Imaginary human female looking to me for financial guidance: you'll have talk to the bank and arrange for them to have that much cash on hand. Then fill out some federal forms."
EXCELLENT!