Dear Lawrence,

Thank you for your well thought-out response and thank your for taking the time to read my piece. As you rightly point out, banks are not always reserve-constrained but periodically have been and probably will be from time in the future. In that regard, a detail which you rightly note, my view would not be altered much as the point I had intended to make with this piece was to open up the discussion about the banking system, its affect on financial stability and the continuing evolution of money, which I am glad you have participated in.

As you rightly point out, underwriting and credit are key tenets of the global economy — but the current system of trust has proven itself to exacerbate huge fluctuations in economic fortunes which often hurt the economically vulnerable the most. Whilst I am not for one minute suggesting that cryptocurrencies provide a panacea for the replacement of the current state of money, I would suggest it is a step on our evolution of determining a potentially more equitable vehicle for economic life than presently exists today. Because if we completely disregard the advent and exploration of cryptocurrencies and allow centralized forces such as governments to latch onto the open source technology that is cryptocurrencies for their own power plays, then perhaps that future is a lot bleaker.

Thank you once again for your insightful and researched response, I welcome such discussions.

Patrick