Bitcoin: The Central Sin of the Banking System

In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin with a distrust of banks and financial intermediaries. High levels of leverage in the banking system made those systems fragile. A bank that borrowed $30 for every $1 of shareholders equity would go bust if the value of its assets fell 4%. All of this was opaque enough that even banks and funds that hadn't taken big risks or lost a lot of money were treated with suspicion by lenders.