This is the speculation board, so I wanted to post this: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1yzbhg/bitstamps_bank_refused_to_open_me_a_bank_account/

I trust Bitstamp, but with all the Gox crap going on I can't help but wonder how much we are still in the Wild West with regards to legality and safety.

Two different views from the above thread:

1.

As has been repeatedly said, Bitstamp is not regulated. Just because they have a KYC procedure doesn't mean they do things properly.

They are still mixing all client funds on a corporate account, without any kind of financial license whatsoever.

This will end bad, when UniCredit decides the party is over, then the party is over, Bitstamp gets sued in Slovenia, fined, pays the fine from customer deposits (which are legally their property since they sit on the corporate account), just like this happened to MtGox in France in 2011.

Kraken is in the same case, friendly bank, for now, but zero financial compliance despite all their marketing efforts to advertise the opposite.

2.

This shouldn't be very surprising - Silicon Valley Bank, the bank that Coinbase and a few other VC-backed BTC businesses use, has stated that they are not accepting any new BTC business accounts in the recent past. I recall them saying something (sorry, don't have link handy) roughly equivalent to "we are already plenty busy with compliance work for our existing (large) BTC business accounts and we're not looking for any new ones".

The strategy amongst banks seems to be to freeze out new BTC businesses and tell the potential customers some bullshit about "Bitcoin is so new, we can't comply with the regulations". Welcome to the world of banking soft regulation where there is absolutely nothing illegal about your business but you cannot get a bank account.

If you could choose at least 5 qualities / tech specs for a new coin, what would they be?
This thread is meant to gather opinions on what makes an altcoin great. Sort of like putting together an Allstar sports team.. the best qualities/specs from the best coins.

Personally, I like:
1. The Kimoto Gravity Well - I feel that this one is necessary to combat multi-pools in POW coins.
2. Adaptive N-Factor - Introduced in Vertcoin to hinder ASICs taking over (also POW).
3. Multiplatform - Wallets for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android.
4. ENS addresses - eMunie will have the ability to register easy to read addresses like "casino" or "yourname". I think NXT has this too already (correct me if I'm wrong).
5. Decentralized exchange - We have yet to see one in action, but I feel it's an important development to avoid centralization.

Other than that, there's the obvious issue of premine/fair distribution. I still lean a little bit towards POW over POS.. or at least some way for acquiring the coins that doesn't mean paying the developer with fiat or some other coin. POW = you pay for electricity.. in other words: you pay a third party that doesn't have any stake in the coin.

Edit: Wanted to add this:
The future payment protocol of Bitcoin (what is it.. BIP70?) should IMO also be a role model for altcoins. Addresses will be completely scrapped, invoices and refunds will be made possible. If an altcoin wants to compete with Bitcoin, these features should not be missing.

Not strictly Bitcoin related.. but this patented method is still intriguing and I wonder if it could be used in a crypto currency:
http://www.kelisec.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ZMXQz52F0

http://www.di.se/artiklar/2013/11/15/han-tar-bitcoin-till-sverige/

I have to run, but here's a quick partial translation:

"The Bitcoin enthusiast Ludvig Öberg, 19, is launching Sweden's first Bitcoin ATM. The ATM will be located in Gallerian in central Stockholm."

"The Bitcoin ATM that Ludvig Öberg ordered is manufactured by another company, Lamassu in USA. It will be able to change Swedish bills into Bitcoins that can then be transfered to your smartphone. On Lamassu's website it says that one Bitcoin ATM costs about 5.000 dollars."