All e-cash is risky. Trading gold-backed notes is also riskier than trading gold, but also more convenient. Convenience has value, so riskier monies have a valid use case. An IoU based upon hard money is obviously better than an IoU based upon softer money. We already have Bitcoin-based IoUs floating around, in the form of paper ETF trades and mining contracts, so bringing that to the masses was just a matter of time. What I can say, is that having lots of competing mints producing the IoUs is the best option, so long as one doesn't end up with a monopoly. I can also say that trading the IoUs with relay events is gonna add mad uncertainty to an already difficult situation, but people can never get enough convenience AND THE UX, so here we are.