David Weidner of Marketwatch on the existential threat Wall Street faces from cryptocurrencies and the more near-term hazard big banks are encountering. The opening:

“Wall Street’s greatest threat isn’t from regulation or another meltdown. As we’ve seen over the past few years, governments and central banks will enable and protect the status quo at any cost.

No, the threat isn’t from traditional sources — it’s from technology. So-called cryptocurrencies, including the best known one, bitcoin, will eventually dislodge the power banks, brokerages and other financial institutions have over the system. Digital currencies circumvent the fees and roadblocks to access that come with traditional financial services.

The possibilities, especially in the underdeveloped world, are enormous. As much as $9.6 trillion in assets locked out of the global economy could be freed up, accordingto the International Monetary Fund.

And on a bigger scale, the centralized power of these institutions will diminish. That was a key message at the Future of Money, a summit of forward-thinking pioneers in the digital-currency space in San Francisco on Tuesday. Bitcoin is community-based; there is no central bank.

Someday a winner will emerge, whether it be bitcoin, a rival or some yet-crafted currency.

There’s just one problem: It isn’t going to happen anytime soon. This stuff is not ready for prime time. It’s not even usable for people and organizations that want to use it. One attendee who was trying to use bitcoin to help finance power projects in underdeveloped nations complained of the currency’s wild valuation swings, the lack of trust and, well, the fact that no one uses it.

Said another enthusiast: ‘When and how do I get my mother to use bitcoin?’

That’s why cryptocurrencies may be the biggest endgame threat, but not the biggest immediate threat. That distinction goes to a new breed of banking that isn’t really technology focused at all. It’s called peer-to-peer lending.”