Banks rely on ledgers, and the essence of blockchain is also a ledger. However, these two types of ledgers stand on completely different logical grounds. The situation that banks face today is quite similar to what newspapers and magazines faced against the internet years ago: either transform into new media or cling to the old format until subscribers dwindle further. The emergence of stablecoins has simply pushed this trend forward significantly.

Many see banks starting to 'use cryptographic technology', but what truly determines the outcome lies not on the surface of technology, but in the underlying accounting logic—accounting methods.

The traditional banking system is built on double-entry bookkeeping. This method originated in medieval Italy and remains the foundation of global accounting today. Every transaction must be recorded in at least two accounts simultaneously, one debit and one credit, ensuring that assets = liabilities + equity, thus achieving internal balance and audit feasibility. For example, if you deposit 1000 yuan, the bank records 'Debit: Cash 1000; Credit: Customer Deposits 1000'.

The problem is that double-entry bookkeeping relies on 'each party keeping their own ledger'. Whether the accounts are authentic depends on the bank's honesty, the effectiveness of audits, and the adequacy of regulation. Essentially, this is a system based on 'trusting institutions not to commit wrongdoing'. History has repeatedly proven that this trust is not reliable, with the Enron incident being a typical example.

What blockchain introduces is a 'triple-entry bookkeeping' system based on double-entry bookkeeping. The third entry does not mean an additional account, but rather an additional record that is shared across the network and tamper-proof. This record is secured by cryptography and consensus mechanisms, not relying on any single institution. Each transaction, in addition to being recorded in both parties' accounts, will also be written into the blockchain, forming a public certificate with a timestamp and cryptographic signature.

This 'third entry' is akin to an ever-locked smart safe: automatically stamped, witnessed by the entire network, and impossible to modify afterward. Compared to double-entry bookkeeping, which requires repeated reconciliation, auditing, and accountability, triple-entry bookkeeping inherently resolves issues of trust and consistency.

Ethereum, in essence, is a distributed triple-entry ledger. Transactions are updated in the sender's and receiver's accounts while generating tamper-proof block records through PoS consensus. It is not about 'post-audit trustworthiness', but rather 'prevention of fraud from the outset'.