I always liked cash. That is, paper (bills, banknotes) and metal (coins). And I look with sadness at the demonetization processes occurring in the world - India, Europe. It's a pity if this process gets to us. It would be great if in the future there were cash that the state could not demonetize. Decentralized physical cash. They could be decentralized by various organizations scattered throughout the world. A certain detailed protocol could regulate their release. And people guided by the provisions of this protocol. The modern development of printing business allows you to make bills durable and protected from counterfeiting. Cash is anonymous by nature. They do not need miners and blockchains. They are nice to have.
I believe in the possibility of a non-blockchased regulation of the circulation of physical cash. First of all paper banknotes. More precisely, not quite as it were, and only paper ones. Metallized, interspersed with plastic, new levels of protection. Possibly with imprinted microchips. Such, you understand, smart notes. Moreover, the cost of a fake should preferably be above par.
But there are some difficulties. Protection against fakes. This already implies a high level of printing quality, unattainable at home. Quality comparable to the quality of modern banknotes. They simply can not be printed at home in this quality. And if it were possible, then fakes would go. Secondly, the issue of these banknotes should obey a specific protocol, law, algorithm, if you want. So the people issuing the emission must be in some way licensed.
Bitcoin paper wallets are not cash, nor are bitcoins themselves in any form. Real cash — that is, ordinary banknotes (bills) and coins — is reusable. They can pay until they are decayed. They can be operated without any electronic infrastructure, in contrast to non-cash Fiat and Bitcoins.
Why do so many people cash out their plastic cards? Maybe because they consider cash a convenient and safe means of payment, exchange and preservation of value? Firstly, cash is protected from the technological risks of using non-cash money. They can be used directly without electronic infrastructure. They can not be organized attack 51, spam, sibyl, etc. They can not do hardfork. Secondly, they are easy to use. Thirdly, they are more convenient in many cases. No need to puzzle over the preservation of private keys, passwords, encrypt secret data. No need to follow the updates of all kinds of BIPs. No need to think about the formats of addresses, private keys ... just like all brilliant. They can simply be buried in the garden, in contrast to non-cash Fiat.
The paper money you use today is completely protected. You can devalue the re-release of any money, even though physical, even virtual; it all depends on the emission algorithm and control over it. Gold and gold coins are still a special form of decentralized - centralized money. Internationally, only gold is decentralized as such (ingots or, ideally, golden sand) - i.e. impersonal from coin forms; on the scale of each country the turnover of gold in general, and especially of gold coins, was centralized. In general, gold has many forms, each of which is an independent phenomenon. About the paper easier. It can always be said that this money is not real, that they are not worth confiscating.
I think that sooner or later law-abiding people will understand that centralized money is something that they do not fully own. At any time, the state can freeze them, devalue them, exchange them at a ratio of 10 to 1 in their favor, demand that they prove that you are not a camel or a terrorist, etc. in the same vein.
As for the authenticity check of the bill, there are really many options. And, in fact, many options to ensure the authenticity of the bill. In general, I consider the bill a brilliant invention. Here it is necessary to clarify what exactly is the protection of the authenticity of the bill, what material mechanism acts as its guarantor. If that of the options that I originally had in mind - high printing protection - then the bill itself is the carrier of authenticity. That is, a piece of paper with all sorts of threads imprinted in it, perforations, watermarks, modulations, etc., etc.
By the way, fiat money - since it is constantly printed - is to a certain extent “indifferent” to a fake. There is no tragedy if even someone prints money a little more) The main thing is not on an industrial scale. The fight should be directed at this.
(Actually, the state deals only with this, which, in fact, “forges” its own money.).
Having a decentralize cash can be exciting since you don't need a 3rd person to make a deal to your main person, but for now, FIAT is still valuable to many people.