Fractional reserve banking doesn't work in any context.
Seee Bagehot's Lombard Street for example; fractional reserve banking was causing a crisis every 10-15 years just like it does now.
Finished reading nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a ‘s masterpiece #BrokenMoney. My two key takeaways:
1. Speed of transaction versus speed of settlement: Increasing mismatch has caused major imbalances,
combined with
2. Discretionary monetary rulesets that work in a local context eventually break down in a global context.
Together, these lead to ‘broken money’ sooner (like now) than later. 
Discussion
Next on my reading list. I’ve read George Selgin’s overview but going straight to the source. Still musing on the idea that central banks are creating more harm instability than good. It’s almost like the early days of medicine where bloodletting was the accepted wisdom.
It's not that central banks have the wrong policy - central planning of interest rates is just as doomed as central planning of anything else
Bagehot isn't the *source* of free banking. Very different tradition, and if anything Bagehot is a Bank of England apologist -- e.g., here
https://www.soundmoneydefense.org/book-sound-money-essay
or here
https://www.aier.org/article/the-life-and-times-of-bagehot-the-greatest-victorian/