That's a great call Bruce, I hope to see Tom on your show soon.

The rate of increase in slowing down, but there's still 13% more processing power in the network compared to the previous update, no?

In the Bitcoin Show interview with Mt.Gox, Mark Karpeles talks about how the next version of Mt.Gox will allow for "decentralized trading".

Link (it's at exactly the 34:00 minute mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0XvP841jaM&feature=related

Can someone explain me how such a system would work in practice?

I fail to see how you will decentralize depositing and withdrawing money while still being an "exchange" that guarantuees a bitcoin seller the buying party has the USD/EUR funds available (rather than just being a matching place like bitmarket.eu).

And how exactly would a "decentralized exchange" work? I don't see how this computes with the need for a bank account to accept fiat currency.

This is the most hilarious thing I've read in a long time! 

Seriously though, I hope MtGox AND TradeHill survive. I want competition.

It doesn't contradict. In my ideal libertarian world, there wouldn't be the current statist quo to worry about. In the world we live in, there is, hence I think registration/licensing will be needed to expand beyond tech savvy people.

Thanks a lot for the info about your exchange. It makes a lot of sense. However, I remember MtGox having a bank account in France (and AFAIK a license in Japan). So MtGox is doing illegal stuff?

I'm going to talk with an international fiscalist in the coming weeks (next week a local Belgian one, later an international one). Maybe the exchange can be run from a VAT and tax free paradise somewhere (Belize, Antigua, ...)

I don't WANT to have btc exchanges registered, but it's currently the only way I see how the market can mature.

Think about it: Those exchanges carry accept millions of USD from users. You need a bank account for that. The tax man will see that as revenue without costs (i.e. pure profit) unless you register as an entity that holds other people's money i.e. a currency exchange.

Edit: And there is no way escaping the tax man since in most countries all transactions above 10K or so are communicated to the authorities.

Edit2: Maybe using just Dwolla you can keep it off the books totally, but again I think the future is in expanding the market to the masses.

Hi,

I can't wrap my head around how exactly the bitcoin exchanges are licensed/regulated in their respective home countries.

Given that all of them accept money from account holders they must at the very least file as an "exchange" in their home countries, because otherwise all deposits hitting their bank account would be considered revenue for their company (and thus taxable), right?

I've been reading around and below is my understanding of the market right now:

1) Mt Gox
Licensed in Japan, bank accounts around the world but not licensed outside Japan

2) TradeHill
Chilean company, no special financial exchange license?

3) Britcoin
UK company, no special financial exchange license but applying under UK regulation

4) Bitcoin7
No idea, seems amateuristic given that prices in USD and EUR stay exactly the same in their website so I fear the worst

5) Others I'm forgetting?

Could people who understand the situation better please chime in so we can make this thread an overview of the market situation from a legal point of view?

Thanks!

Gresham's law only applies if the government forces the same value on the "good" and the "bad" money.

Hypothetical example: Gov't mints new coins for circulation with half the raw material value in it than the coin it replaces. People will start hoarding the old coin and take it out of circulation completely if the raw material value goes above the nominal value.

I think the recent MtGox debacle will at least open up the competition considerably. Ideally for consumers several exchanges take a piece (but not a landgrab) of the market.

I'm considering launching a EU based btc trading platform.

Thanks for the info. I made a claim at MtGox, don't know yet how much I lost.

Wait and see... I wouldn't want to have the entire Bitcoin hacker community going against me personally...

Welcome