Could you elaborate a bit more on this? I see your edit where you highlight that the bank doesn't screw you and you have more transparency, but to my knowledge the nature of a decentralized cryptocurrency should have that same effect.
With regards to getting screwed, the history of exchanges getting "hacked" and all the crypto disappearing should speak for itself, and with regards to transparency, just look at Tether as an example of how you can avoid it.
Sure, it happens with banks, too. I still have no clue how Wirecard managed to do what they did, without getting caught, in face of credidble reports of malfeasance. But in general, it has become much, much harder to wrong others, or to be reckless. And that is because of the regulation everyone keeps decrying, as if somehow they were the subject of it.
And you still seem to have a strong stance on how great the current regulatory scheme is.
If the bank overcharges me, I have some form of redress (e.g. the PPI scandal).
It's not perfect by any means, but for many consumers it's likely better than a world where, once the money's gone, it's gone.
if Binance, Kraken, Bitfinex, Coinbase et al shut down tomorrow, what do you think would happen to the price of BTC and the rest...
This doesn't negate your point, but I would just argue that we pay a heavy price for our heavily regulated financial system, between bank fees, card processing fees, foreign transaction fees, trading fees, etc.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2012/02/28/147573947/the-fight-over-over...