You can now transfer value simply by having a public/private key pair. No need for banks and their multi-day wire transfers. No need for KYC. You can borrow and lend on a decentralized network within minutes. Invest in markets, make purchases. All without relying on a centralized entity, and without being bound by your government.
Crypto really is something beautiful to the cypherpunk in me.
You still need KYC at entry and exit points into the crypto market (e.g. Coinbase), you still need to transfer fiat money onto exchanges via traditional payments infrastructure.
The decentralised, utopian vision only works if the entire game is played there.
Also, a side note, KYC is a good thing for things like AML. The ability to dispute with centralised orgs like banks is a good thing; the major issue with decentralised solutions is that there's no accountability for issues like fraud.
"By solving the dishonesty and fungibility problems, bitcoin has radically dialed up the contagion factor for chain letter technology to a degree never experienced before. Bitcoin has become the first chain letter to go mainstream. It is the first chain letter to go global."
