I started to reply, then the reply got to be too long, then it turned into a proposal, and then I forgot about it. If you are interested, here it is:

https://steemit.com/steem/@mkdouglas/proposal-how-steem-escrow-transactions-would-facilitate-trade-currency-exchange-and-lending-using-only-fiat-currencies-and-the-steem-blockchain-so-as-to-bypass-bitcoin-as-a-gateway-cryptocurrency-increase-the-number-of-active-steem-users-and-increase-the-