Trust isn't necessary. We explain why it can't be done without it.

What Does Trust Mean?

Trust is a fundamental concept that plays a central role in many areas of life. It refers to the firm belief or confidence that someone or something acts reliably, honestly, competently, or with good intentions. Trust can refer to people, institutions, systems, or even oneself.

Definition of Trust

Trust means relying on someone or something without having all the information or guarantees. It is a kind of advance belief, often based on experience, intuition, or observation.

Examples

• Trusting a friend to keep a secret.
• Trusting that a bridge is built to be stable.
• Trusting oneself to master a difficult task.

Types of Trust

• Interpersonal Trust: Trust between people, e.g., in families, friendships, or partnerships.
• Institutional Trust: Trust in organizations, companies, or the state.
• Self-Trust: Belief in one’s own abilities and strengths.

Importance in Everyday Life

Trust is the foundation for successful relationships, effective collaboration, and social cohesion. Without trust, many everyday processes would be unthinkable, since constant control and suspicion would make life together difficult.

In short:
Trust is the belief that you can rely on someone or something—even without absolute certainty.

But what if trust were not required, as is the case with a publicly distributed blockchain? Like, um…Bitcoin?

Why Is Trust Necessary?

The absence of trust would fundamentally change your interpersonal relationships. Trust is considered the foundation of every relationship—whether friendship, partnership, or family.
It enables emotional closeness, openness, and intimacy. If trust were no longer necessary, for example because a technical system eliminates all uncertainties, the following changes could occur:

• The emotional bond and sense of security that comes from mutual trust would disappear.
• Relationships could become more superficial, as the risk of making oneself vulnerable—and thus the willingness to truly open up—would be missing.
• The willingness to engage with others might decrease, as the existential value of trust as a basis for closeness and understanding would be lacking.
• There would be fewer conflicts caused by breaches of trust, but also fewer opportunities to grow together through challenges and to rebuild trust.

In short: Without trust as a central element, relationships could lose depth, stability, and emotional connection. Trust is not just a means to minimize risk, but also the emotional glue that truly connects people.

What if trust was not required, as with a publicly distributed blockchain? Like… Bitcoin?

If trust is not required, as with a publicly distributed blockchain such as Bitcoin, we speak of a so-called trustless system.
This means that participants can carry out transactions without having to trust a central authority or another person. Instead, trust is shifted to the technology itself—that is, to the mathematical and cryptographic principles as well as the decentralized structure of the blockchain.

How does this work in Bitcoin?

• Bitcoin uses a public, immutable blockchain in which all transactions are stored transparently and visible to everyone. This minimizes the risk of fraud or manipulation, since every change would be visible to the entire network.
• The integrity and validity of transactions is ensured by consensus mechanisms (such as Proof-of-Work) and cryptographic processes. This way, no one can secretly manipulate the system or double-spend.
• There is no central authority (like a bank) that you need to trust. The rules are the same for everyone and are enforced by the open-source code and the network structure.

What does this mean for the concept of trust?

• Traditional trust in people or institutions is replaced by trust in the functionality and security of the technology.
• Ideally, users can do business with total strangers without needing to know or trust each other beforehand, because the system itself guarantees compliance with the rules.
• However, a certain level of trust remains in the software being used, the developers, and your own diligence (e.g., safe storage of access data).