The Top 10 Reasons to Ditch Your Bank in 2023
When you grow up, you are taught that the banks are there to protect your money. However, as you age, this concept falls to the wayside alongside other fairy tales such as the tooth fairy or Santa Claus. The reality is that the bank is a business that has shareholders who expect their revenue above all other matters. It’s this structure that has left the average banker at a disadvantage.
Why else would the bank pay you a negligible 0.03% APY on your savings? These funds are then lent out to other bank customers at 7% APY. These huge profits don’t get redistributed to other bank users but are kept by the bank to further shareholder profits.
There are endless reasons to ditch your bank in 2023. Large financial firms, and the market in general, remain skewed against the average citizen. Luckily, you do have other options thanks to new developments. Here are the top 10 reasons to ditch your bank in 2023.
It’s the Age of Decentralization
New technology emerged that has made it possible for you to conduct the majority of financial transactions directly without the need to use third parties. In the past, a centralized financial system made sense because there was no way to conduct transactions in a secure way. The bank was required for the most basic tasks such as securing your funding. However, this is not the case today.
The introduction of blockchain technology altered the market in multiple ways. Blockchain technology enables people to conduct direct peer-to-peer transactions securely and in a transparent and open manner. It’s these attributes that have made projects like Bitcoin long-time favorites for traders.
There are many reasons why decentralizing the financial system makes sense. For instance, the profits created by a decentralized network can get redistributed to the users rather than shareholders. This structure means that you receive more returns for your efforts.
Additionally, blockchain technology eliminates the majority of steps required to conduct transactions. When compared to using the centralized system, which requires a multitude of payment processors, banks, and third parties, it’s far more efficient. Decentralized networks make sense. That’s why they continue to expand.
It’s about Freedom
One of the main reasons you may want to consider becoming the bank is the desire to achieve financial freedom. This term has many meanings to different people, but most would agree this goal is one of the most desired, but also most elusive, to achieve.
It’s no accident that it’s hard to become financially free. There’s no desire by the centralized financial system to have the masses suddenly become financially literate. As a responsible saver and someone seeking to break out of the rat race, financial freedom should remain a reachable goal.
Bitcoin started a financial revolution. The network’s developer, Satoshi Nakamoto, remains a mystery. Nobody can say for certain why the person who created such a valuable asset remains silent, but most agree that they believed there would be pushback for creating a competing economy.
It’s been fourteen years since Bitcoin entered the market with the goal of providing a better option to the market remains a priority. Additionally, projects like META 1 Coin now carry the torch alongside Bitcoin. These networks provide new options that expand on the dream and offer more returns.
Better Services
Banking options remain limited for the average person. Unless you are accredited in the centralized financial system, you can’t gain access to the best options. Accredited traders can show $1M in liquid assets. For many people, this requirement means that they are financially excluded from the most lucrative options.
Today’s advanced DeFi (decentralized financial) services were designed with you, not shareholders in mind. DeFi options pay out far higher APYs versus traditional bank accounts. The higher returns stem from the elimination of people from the business system and other advantages.
DeFi banking provides a variety of ways to secure passive income. Passive income is funding you receive for past efforts. In the past, rental properties were one of the most common ways a person could obtain passive income. The main fallback and reason why not everyone has passive income is because it requires a massive upfront deposit to secure assets such as rental properties.
DeFi solutions tackle that issue by making it much easier to secure passive income. One of the best aspects of DeFi features such as staking and farming is that your original asset is not at risk. Additionally, these options pay out much higher than centralized accounts and offer compounding returns on many platforms.
More Transparency
Blockchain technology improves transparency for all parties. Public blockchains offer open transparency to the market. It would be nearly impossible for you to gain inner access to your bank’s financial information.
How much does your bank make on your funding? How much funding in transactions or in total has your bank conducted? Good luck convincing them to provide these details on their own.
Blockchain networks offer these monitoring capabilities as part of their core technology. Blockchain explorers enable anyone to see and track vital details of the network in real time. These free programs are easy to use and require no previous experience to navigate.
The immutable nature of blockchain networks means that you can see details such as the history of the network. Compared to the financial services offered by your bank in regards to gaining insight into operations, there is no comparison.
Lower Fees
What good is banking if you are losing money due to fees? Surveys have shown that the majority of people don’t trust or even understand some of the fees on their bank statements. Banks continue to tax their clients via these random and often hidden fees.
The average banker knows they are getting the short end of the stick in terms of fees, and many feel helpless. You’re not alone in feeling that the bank is gouging clients. Again, their goal is to create profits for shareholders, not you. As such, every fee adds to their profits.
DeFi networks eliminate this structure, which enables them to focus on function and purpose in addition to profits. Blockchain networks can conduct direct peer-to-peer transactions without any third party. This structure means that it’s much cheaper to use blockchain assets versus fiat transactions in most instances.
Remittance payments are the perfect example of how blockchain networks provide a more efficient solution that saves money for users. Sending funding internationally can get expensive. Reports show that the average remittance payment has 7–12% in fees.
Remittance payments serve as a lifeline to many people, and losing 10% of your lifeline can be devastating. Every bit of savings counts in this scenario. Thankfully, blockchain networks charge far less for transactions. You can send millions in crypto globally in seconds for pennies. The same transaction in fiat currency would cost thousands.
More Privacy
Privacy concerns should always be a priority for savers. History has shown that in times of extreme instability, even governments can confiscate funding. This scenario may not seem plausible for many people today, but even the US confiscated citizens’ gold in the 1930s. The truth is nobody is safe from these actions if the market gets volatile.
Privacy is the first step you should take to keep your savings secure from thieves, hackers, and even prying eyes. Unfortunately, there is no way to privately own a bank account. Financial institutions have become increasingly intrusive. It’s easier than ever for people to see who owns what and where.
A better solution is to protect your privacy through the use of technology designed with security in mind. DeFi networks don’t require you to provide personal information to conduct financial transactions. This openness makes it easier to join but also keeps you safe from prying eyes.
Hackers can’t gain access to these networks and steal your data like banks. Every year, billions in identity and other personal data are stolen from banks. These issues are not a problem for DeFi networks because they don’t have your info. Additionally, DeFi networks are unable to provide your info if asked by regulators because they don’t hold it.
Defeat Inflation
Inflation is a scourge for savers. For centuries, inflation has been a problem that has led to the collapse of entire nations. This decrease in buying power of a currency can cause a variety of problems for savers. For one, it can mean that you’re losing money that you’re saving in a bank.
The idea of losing money sitting in the bank is a hard one to swallow for most people. However, this is the case for the majority of the population at this time. The APY paid out on your savings account doesn’t keep up with the current inflation rate, which leads to losses over time.
To defeat inflation, it takes the ability to leverage other currencies and assets. In the past, wealthy individuals would use gold to protect against inflation. This strategy worked well for the rich in the past, but the average person has no means to store and transport gold securely.
A better alternative that has gained popularity is cryptocurrencies. Many of these digital assets feature unique characteristics such as limited issuance, which makes them better suited for long-term value storage. There are even digital assets designed specifically to fight inflation over time.
The META 1 Coin is a safe haven token that derives value from a basket of gold-related assets. These assets appreciate over time, which results in the value of the token increasing. During the last market corrections, when most projects lost +50% in value, META 1 Coin slowly climbed in value.
Blockchain Technology is More Stable than Ever
Another major reason why you may want to consider ditching the bank in favor of becoming your own bank is that blockchains have come so far over the last decade. Today’s advanced blockchains such as META1 Coin now incorporate security and safety features that were impossible only a few years prior.
There are more methods to validate blockchain networks as well. The added consensus options mean that blockchains have become more efficient, faster, and offer more usability to the market. The most common type of blockchain entering the market today remains PoS (proof of stake) blockchains.
These networks do away with the power-hungry mining structure and replace it with a more democratic and open option. PoS networks allow regular users to participate in the verification process without the need for learning new technical skills or purchasing expensive mining rigs. Consequently, these networks are easier to join and secure returns supporting.
Save the Environment
There is a lot of talk about the amount of electricity that networks like Bitcoin use. Reports put its power consumption at more than that of many countries. While this may seem ridiculous, there are a lot of factors you need to consider.
For one, the centralized banking sector consumes massive electricity when compared to blockchain networks. Additionally, today’s advanced PoS and DPoS networks such as META1 Coin or Polkadot were built to be environmentally friendly.
There are even blockchains that seek to be carbon-negative in the coming years. This commitment to the environment and users is just another reason why banks are worried about losing clients as time progresses. It’s now becoming more common for banks to start offering crypto options as a way to try and slow the customer bleed-off.
Banks are History
Now that you have a strong list of reasons to ditch your bank, it’s time to take your financial freedom seriously. Don’t be scared to leverage new methods of generating wealth and becoming your own bank. In the end, the more people that make this decision, the more empowered the community becomes.
