Federated means a group of people has custody of your money
Federations are the problem, bitcoin is the solution
Discussion
UX is the problem. Federations are the solution.
Equally important: federations are only the problem "sometimes" -- e.g. when you're being canceled and the federation is pressured to either steal your money or at least stop serving you
until you make the wrong people mad, federations work well enough for most transactions
Unchosen federations are the problem. Voluntary opt-in federations are _part of_ the solution.
If they steal from you or shotgun kyc you is pretty cold comfort to recall "will at least I chose them voluntarily"
Plenty of custodians are voluntarily chosen. Most ppl voluntarily choose Coinbase. That’s more of a concern if you’re choosing a custodian/federation because you have no choice.
The more important thing is if you can leave the federation in a censorship resistant way. If you can’t leave when you need/want, then the voluntary nature in which you entered is irrelevant
Mints can steal