The perverse way that taxis are regulated in the US (medallions and so on) seems to be completely unique to the US, or perhaps North America. It's not how things work in Europe. Uber and friends were started in the US as a sensible reaction against that perversity. They make a lot less sense in Europe.

See also the Coin wallet, various payment services, etc, which were conceived to address inefficiencies that are unique parts of the US financial service industry.