How can a system like Ripple comply with the cost of regulations?

[Stampbit]

Ripple sells itself as a decentralized exchange, but at some point it must interface with the banking system and it is then that FINCEN will regulate it out of existence. Unless Opencoin is proffering itself as the sole MSB in this, would not any broker of coin suddenly fall into hot water?

[QuantPlus]

Right now Ripple's only banking interface is Bitstamp with it's Slovenian bank...
And Bitstamp's roughly $500,000 in capital on Ripple is the vast majority.

Ripple CEO Chris Larsen was shut down by the SEC in 2009 with Prosper...
I'll bet he learned a lot from that experience.

Essentially, it's a race against time to gain critical mass before the Feds close in.

Though OpenCoin is very tight-lipped about basically everything...
They MUST be all lawyered up and have a very specific plan...
My sense is these guys are always thinking 3 or 4 moves ahead...
Which is the main reason several name Venture Capital groups have invested.  

OpenCoin has made it clear that large Gateways will be MSBs and possibly banks...
My guess is that they will buy an offshore bank somewhere to anchor things.

https://ripple.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3164&hilit=larsen

[Stampbit]

I see, so theyve separated the broker element of an exchange from the exchange part of it, where the brokers will be semi-decentralized and the exchange fully. Interesting to see where it goes, chris larsen obviously has a real motive, profit aside, to get this thing operational.

[broken_pixel]

Ripple is not opensource, end of story.