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> If the people of a country include a large criminal element that would forcefully put themselves in the position of rentier middleman, extracting all margin from interactions in the economy for themselves and so starving the country of growth capital

Isn’t this the business plan of every failed/fraudulent crypto exchange?

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I mean "forcefully" literally. You voluntarily enter into a relationship with Uber, AirBnB, etc; and other companies can enter the same market. You don't voluntarily enter into a relationship with the guy who comes into your shop demanding protection money. Nor with the gang who corners the market for e.g. bananas, by "negotiating" with both the producers and the large commercial buyers at gunpoint.

Keyword here is "forcefully", when you use an exchange, you willingly do so.

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