Yes, I choose to depend on my friends, because it saves my hard-earned money and makes my friends a little richer in the process.
You might want to consider that relying on exchange entities is making you dependent on people who don't even know you exist, much less give a crap about you beyond making a buck.
It's one of the main benefits of decentralized currency that 3rd parties are no longer needed to keep money safe or facilitate transactions.