Word. That cartel needs to be broken up. Along with airlines, finance, insurance, and a lot of other industries.
I lose my keys, I lose my coins. I can't go to the local BTC bank branch and I also don't have FDIC insurance on my cold wallet.
Visa and Mastercard both raising fees at the same time is extremely suspect.
Competitors making similar price adjustments based on seeing each other's public statements and strategy is legal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_collusion
Same reason that competitors' gas stations across the street from each other have the same prices. They can simply see each others' prices posted on the street signs and match them. Likewise with Apple Music being $9.99 to match Spotify's $9.99. Now they've both increased to $10.99/month.
Same "legalized tacit collusion" situation happens when one leading law firm announces salary increases and other law firms immediately match it: https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/large-law-firms-...
No secret agreements in hidden emails or conspiracies required. Just match the visible pricing your competitors have. The loophole is competitors can't hide prices because consumers need to know what the prices are to pay them.
> Courts have held that no violation of the antitrust laws occurs where firms independently raise or lower prices, but that a violation can be shown when plus factors occur, such as firms being motivated to collude and taking actions against their own economic self-interests.
It is not as clear-cut you are making it seem and collusion even when tacit is highly anti-competitive.