2minutebitcoin on Nostr: The nature of an intermediary is one that can extract perpetual profits from anyone ...

The nature of an intermediary is one that can extract perpetual profits from anyone doing business in its network.
And that’s what money is - a network of trust. This is why the governments have been so keen to monopolize it - it gives them essentially unlimited power and wealth, as they possess the ability to confiscate the wealth of their citizens.

Such gatekeepers are not only governments but also private monopolies or cartels.
- Rockefeller with Standard Oil - owned the whole end-to-end distribution of oil.
- Big Tech - Apple gets to tax **30%** of any transaction on their App store.
- Commercial banks get to tax any operation with money, including financial asset purchases (they’re often the only market maker)

-- an excerpt from the Saylor Series Episode 2 - the Rise of Man through the Dark and Steel Ages, its 2-minute version can be found here https://www.2minutebitcoin.org/blog/saylor-series-episode-2-the-rise-of-man-through-the-dark-and-steel-ages-robert-breedlove