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David Holmes at pando.com says
"Now, in what might be the ultimate troll against government oversight, somebody has proposed an unholy union between Uber and bitcoin,"
Over the course of its five-year existence, Uber has courted controversy and pushed the regulatory envelope at nearly every opportunity. From insurance to safety to privacy, Uber’s Travis Kalanick has acted like a rebel with a $40 billion cause, and many local governments are still playing catch up. They say it’s better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. Uber has time for neither.
Alongside Uber’s centralized arrogance is Bitcoin’s decentralized anarchy. The crypto-currency resists government regulation by design. The very things that make it appealing in theory — anonymity, ease of transfer across borders — attracts money launderers and buyers and sellers of illicit goods.
The union between the two is called Ridecoin and it sounds like it’s straight out of Peter Thiel’s dream journal. The tagline reads, “Bitcoin Uber! Distributed blockchain based ridesharing. Can’t be shut down like Uber and Lyft. It just exists.”
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Saturday December 13 2014, @08:25PM
> What exactly do you mean by "taxi monopoly"?
When a medallion costs $700,000* something smells very fishy. Sure maybe there is not 100% market domination by a single corporation, but if the barriers to entry mean you and I can't go start our own taxi business, that's close enough to a monoploy for me.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_New_York_City [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 13 2014, @08:47PM
I think a better word is cartel. The economic effects are essentially the same as a monopoly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 13 2014, @09:01PM
At least in California just to start your own security company requires a $1 million dollar bond.