After spending a week in the US, I understand a bit more why the Americans here are so eager for crypto to succeed.

I just got back from a week-long trip to the US, and I now understand a bit better why the Americans in this sub need crypto so badly.

To put things in perspective, I live in Canada. Canadians can quickly send money between bank accounts using Interac e-transfer, which costs $0.50-$1 per transaction, and is even free with many accounts. You can tap your card everywhere, even at small local stores. Cash is rarely used (in my experience at least).

Contrast this with the US: People rely on third party apps like Cashapp and Venmo to send money (edit: since posting I have learned that Zelle exist and is free. But apparently not all banks use it?). Some stores support tap, some don't, and the ones that do usually use Square or similar. You still pay at a restaurant by signing the receipt. Using cash is common. (Please correct me if I’m wrong about any of this.)

To add to all of this, Canadian banks are much more strictly relegated than American banks so they're generally considered safer (I know we hate banks around here, but it's true).

So I see now why the Americans in this sub want crypto to be adopted. I always saw crypto as a solution to a problem that wasn't really a huge problem. But now I understand that in the states it really is a problem, and it needs solving.