@FranckLeroy Coinbase != Bitcoin. Coinbase can't stop two individuals trading Bitcoin directly. No single point can. It would require 50%+ of network to act in concert.
@FranckLeroy exchange platforms, i.e. banking, are great. Physical cash is also pretty bad and has limitations; gold even more so. You lose decentralisation, but that is fine for most people. However the core is free, unlike fiat
@sgryphon In practice, Bitcoin is so crappy at exhanging money (does not scale, super slow, high fees) that most people need exchange platforms.
Bitcoin is "theoretically" strong but sucks in practice.