Going down the bitcoin rabbit hole lead me into a mindset of not trusting anyone. It was a tough mindset to hold on to while I was still in it. I've learned to lean into trust much more since I realized the following.

The trust required to get into a car and drive down the street already extends to thousands, or even tens of thousands of people that I will never meet.

Everyone involved in the design, manufature, and inspection of the vehicles we drive and the infrastructure we drive on. Everyone driving their vehicles and all the same for each of those vehicles, plus the supply chain that ensures the quality of the fuel that goes into these vehicles.

Have you ever verified for yourself that the gasoline in the pump meets quality standards? Unfortunately much of it is full of corn syrup these days, but all of this stuff functions and is affected by money.

When we can trust that money is sound we don't need to verify all the rest because it's directly linked to proof of work.

Counter intuitively when money requires trust, trust breaks down.