Early Riders

Mexico's 2018 fintech law named Bitcoin. A year later, Banxico barred every bank and fintech from offering it.

Gustavo Flores Echaiz (@gustavojfe) on why Bitcoin exchanges in Mexico register with the tax authority instead of holding a financial license.

On Final Settlement.

Transaction costs run about 7% of the global economy, close to what investment bankers charge to sit between two parties.

@Lnelson_21: once agents move money on your behalf, that 7% flows back to consumers, and businesses built on customer inertia get disintermediated.

Banks have counted on customers being too slow to switch.

@Mtanguma: AI agents remove that inertia. An agent can open a browser and move dollars to whoever pays the best rate, and the new OCC-chartered firms will be built to let agents plug in.

Banks and fintechs still treat Bitcoin as technology. Their clients will push them to treat it as money.

@Mtanguma on Final Settlement: even the best MPC setup stays online, runs on user roles and permissions, and rolls back to one private key.

Money at size belongs offline.