Jake turned eleven last month. I thought it was time he had his own savings account.

We walked into the bank on Saturday morning. The lady at the desk was friendly enough.

"We'd like to open a savings account for my son."

"Great! I'll need some paperwork."

She handed me a thick packet of forms. I started reading.

"Social Security number?"

"Yes, for the child."

I looked at Jake. He was eleven. "He needs a Social Security number to save money?"

"It's required. For tax reporting."

"He's eleven. He doesn't pay taxes."

"But if he earns more than $10 in interest, we have to report it to the IRS."

I laughed. "Your savings account pays 0.3% interest. He'd need $3,000 just to earn $10."

"That's correct."

"So you're asking for his Social Security number to track $10 that he'll never earn."

She looked uncomfortable. "It's bank policy."

I kept reading the forms. Date of birth. Address. Phone number. Email address. Mother's maiden name.

"Why do you need all this information?"

"Know Your Customer laws. Anti-money laundering. We have to report everything to the government."

"He's eleven."

"The law applies to everyone."

Jake tugged on my sleeve. "Dad, what's money laundering?"

"When bad people try to hide dirty money by moving it around."

"Am I bad people?"

"No, buddy."

I looked at the forms again. "This is insane. He just wants to save his allowance money."

The bank lady shrugged. "Would you like to open the account or not?"

I stood up. "No thank you."

We walked out of the bank. Jake was confused.

"Why didn't we open the account?"

"Because they want to treat you like a criminal before you've done anything wrong."

"Just for saving money?"

"That's what it looks like."

We got in the car. I pulled out my phone and showed him my bitcoin wallet.

"This is different. No forms. No Social Security number. No permission from anyone."

"How do I get one?"

"Right now."

I downloaded a wallet app on his phone. Set up a new wallet. Sent him 10,000 sats.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"No forms?"

"No forms."

"No Social Security number?"

"No Social Security number."

He stared at his phone. "Dad, this is better than a bank account."

"Why?"

"Because it's mine. Really mine. The bank lady made it sound like I'd be borrowing permission to save my own money."

We drove home. That evening, Jake showed his bitcoin wallet to his mom.

"The bank wanted my Social Security number just to save money," he told her.

Sarah looked shocked. "For an eleven-year-old?"

"That's when I knew bitcoin was the right choice," I said.

Jake nodded. "My money. My wallet. Nobody else's business."