We could easily go back and forth with cases that show the market regulating itself or bad events that happened when there wasn't any regulation in place - not

We could easily go back and forth with cases that show the market regulating itself or bad events that happened when there wasn't any regulation in place - not because of it. Anyways, to the more important point. You would make a judgement based on their website and feedback from sources such as HN, Reddit, Twitter, word-of-mouth, etc. That's how we all make decisions based on nearly everything we use regardless of whether or not it's regulated by the government. And if it's a new service where you don't have access to credible sources, you make a judgment based on the level of risk you're comfortable with. That's exactly why some people are willing to give emails or phone numbers for 'Show HN' posts on here and others are not. Some don't care so much and really want to try the product. Others want to wait to ensure they are credible.