The question of whether cryptocurrency will replace traditional banking is one of the most debated in fintech — and the answer has enormous implications for the global financial system. The crypto-will-win camp argues that decentralised finance offers a genuine alternative to a banking system that charges excessive fees, excludes billions of unbanked people from financial services, and operates on infrastructure built decades ago. Bitcoin and Ethereum have already proven that trustless, permissionless financial transactions are possible at scale. The banking-will-survive camp argues that cryptocurrency's volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and the complexity of self-custody make it unsuitable for mainstream adoption, that central bank digital currencies will give governments the benefits of blockchain without the disruption, and that most people simply want a reliable place to keep their money. Will crypto replace banks?
