Sowell would likely say that even Bitcoin involves trade offs, that giving up monetary flexibility means giving up tools to respond to crises. Fair enough. But perhaps the real trade off is between short term political convenience and long term civilizational trust. If so, Bitcoin isn’t utopian thinking. It’s the most Sowellian position of all.
Discussion
"Worth it." -Me
The trade offs & shifts in trust that Bitcoin causes has fascinated me since I discovered it.
When you don't have to trust the money you are required to trust your suppliers & vendors.
Then you have the trust of custodians & third parties. While these can introduce the risk of rehypothecation for the sake of convenience, it doesn't introduce systemic risk. Eventually the breech of trust is obvious & the market brutally responds (ie FTX, Luna, etc).
I find it ironic that by removing the need for trust we introduce it again in a limited fashion.