"I have some ideas on how free market regulation may be profitable..." I have some ideas how profitability is probably the worst motive for regulation. No, not ideas, actual real examples. Already mentioned the credit rating agencies. Paying a "private regulatory company" is how alot of industry used to work, and some low key areas still do. Where quality rather than safety is prime concern, or it doesn't really matter. We turned to the state to regulate because private or industry regulation often doesn't work very well - the regulators in a competitive regulation world are likly to undercut each other in cost and standards to get the business. Then which one do you trust?
Really the idea of commercial regulation in some areas isn't just daft it seems like a contradiction. If there's a company signing off restaurants as clean, are they going to be as rigorous as a local authority? One sends round an agent who does some checks and refuses to issue a sticker if the standard isn't met. The other sends round an agent who does some checks and shuts you down if the standard isn't met. Which one are you really going to take your family to?
Clearly, i'm not going to convince you, there some deep ideological objection to the state going on. At least understand that some industries are large because they have to be, for the capital required to invest in them, not because of the state. I dont *like* regulation, only recognise theres a place for it, and sometimes the state is the only* trustworthy regulator (* or most? least worst?
).
First off, thanks for having a polite discussion! I really enjoyed it. Well the model you have proposed is only one model, businesses like the BBB, underwriters labs, consumer reports, etc could all be applied to bitcoin. Those models are private and have already proven quite successful, i have no doubts that the same type of system could be applied to bitcoin. I dont know about you, but before I buy a product or go out to eat, i look at amazon reviews and urban spoon everytime. Its just part of my life, millions of other people do as well. i see no reason why bitcoin accountability could not be privatized, especially given the public nature of the blockchain.
Great conversation friend, best of luck to you. Put your coins in cold storage if you have not already. I prepared a guide on it here for anyone who wants to know how, its a bit long winded but thats how i speak:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1u5yn6/easy_to_use_guide_how_to_get_bitcoin_safely_store/Everybody be safe and do your due diligence.