I remember the days where people here were going nuts on certain countries that were planning to regulate Bitcoin. Nowadays people seem to realize that regulations are a necessity, and at the same time not causing any harm to the regular users. I personally see these regulations as a sign that Bitcoin is being taken seriously by the governments, and rightfully so. The only negative aspect (for those who care) is that people won't be able to sign up and buy/sell without verification anymore. The majority of the most popular exchanges have already KYC policies running that can't be avoided.
It was only going to be a matter of time before this kicked in. Regulating exchanges aren't quite the same thing as regulating Bitcoin, and with the experiences of Gox and BTC-E, I suppose regulatory protection that actually prioritises users isn't something I am completely against. The majority of users who trade anyway will be used to that requirement.
Those who do care about personal privacy and decentralisation must now throw their support behind so-called decentralised exchanges. Fragile ecosystems they may be now, this really is the only viable progression.
