My final comment today is that if you think you are living in a world where digital currency is “in the future” you really need to get a grip on how transactions occur every day: About 95-97% of ALL transactions these days are done electronically. And they are done in a way that is horribly insecure, and subject to surveillance by both the government and the bad guys. (Sometimes the gov is the bad guys, but we all know that!)
Bitcoin is a method for moving value from one to place another without regard for borders or interference from the IRS or the NSA. Nor is there a bank picking off a little bit of every transaction, every step along the way.
So, you're saying it's a conduit, a means to an end, much as paper is to dollar bills just more ephemeral, therefore easier to conceal.
Why would banks handle a transaction in bitcoin for free, by the way?