You make a lot of generalizations here, maybe some fair, maybe some not.

If I recall correctly, silver was primarily money, gold secondarily, until the late 19th century. Also the 19th century was when Britain dominated.

Can you explain what exactly is wrong with usury/interest?

Also if I recall correctly, bitcoin worked well enough the first few years, without all the custodians and complications. In truth, there have always been some custodians around, such as mining pools and popular exchanges, so it has been a mixed bag from the beginning.