2013-06-28 WSJ.com - MtGox Appears to Register with FinCEN

[sttroon]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323873904578574000957464468.html

WASHINGTON—The world's largest bitcoin trading exchange appears to have taken a key step to comply with U.S. anti-money-laundering rules and potentially avoid additional run-ins with authorities.

A company listed as Mt. Gox this week registered as a money services business with the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, according to FinCen's website. Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, which says it handles about 80% of all trading in the virtual currency, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

FinCen in March started applying traditional money-laundering rules to "virtual currencies" amid growing concern that new forms of digital cash are being used for illicit activities. Those rules mandate that exchanges register with FinCen, follow stricter bookkeeping requirements and report transactions of more than $10,000.

About a month after the edict, the Department of Homeland Security seized an account tied to Mt. Gox, alleging the company and a subsidiary were conducting transactions "as part of an unlicensed money service business."

According to FinCen's website, the agency received Mt. Gox's registration on Thursday. The online form listed a street in Dover, Del., as the company's address.

[Stephen Gornick]

MSB Registration Status Information

Date: 06/28/2013

MSB Registration Number: 31000029348132
Registration Type: Initial Registration
Legal Name: MtGox Inc
DBA Name:
Street Address: 615 S Dupont Hwy
City: Dover
State: DELAWARE
Zip: 19901

MSB Activities:
Money transmitter, Other

States of MSB Activities:
Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District Of Columbia,
Federated States Of Micronesia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Marshall Islands, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Palau, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, US, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
All States & Territories & Foreign Flag: All States/Territories

Number of Branches:

Authorized Signature Date: 06/26/2013

Received Date: 06/27/2013

[deadweasel]

MSB Registration Status Information

Date: 06/28/2013

MSB Registration Number: 31000029348132
Registration Type: Initial Registration
Legal Name: MtGox Inc
DBA Name:
Street Address: 615 S Dupont Hwy
City: Dover
State: DELAWARE
Zip: 19901

MSB Activities:
Money transmitter, Other

States of MSB Activities:
Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District Of Columbia,
Federated States Of Micronesia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Marshall Islands, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Palau, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, US, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
All States & Territories & Foreign Flag: All States/Territories

Number of Branches:

Authorized Signature Date: 06/26/2013

Received Date: 06/27/2013

[samson]

This is good news

[vokain]

yay

[ninjaboon]

nice but I don't trade on their site anymore.
 

[vokain]

How did we hear this first from a mainstream outlet?

[samson]

How did we hear this first from a mainstream outlet?

Because MtGox PR doesn't exist - they should have announced this everywhere.

[vokain]

How did we hear this first from a mainstream outlet?

Because MtGox PR doesn't exist - they should have announced this everywhere.

man, every move in Bitcoin is scrutinized. I bet eventually journalists will be the next sizeable demographic that hop on board the gravy train

[No_2]

How did we hear this first from a mainstream outlet?

Because MtGox PR doesn't exist - they should have announced this everywhere.

I agree, although their PR does seem to be getting better. Perhaps they will centralise their communicators more when they relaunch other services next month.

[jackthebeanstalk]

Good, at least I can start withdrawing and depositing into Mtgox without the worries that my money will be confiscated.

[Severian]

Good, at least I can start withdrawing and depositing into Mtgox without the worries that my money will be confiscated.

There's no guarantee of that. Fincen is an arbitrary authority and could hit Mtgox with an imagined infraction.

[aigeezer]

"According to FinCen's website, the agency received Mt. Gox's registration on Thursday" where the WSJ conveniently found it in time to publicize it on Friday.

A government agency receives an application and publicizes it on its website on the same day or within a day? Hmmn.

Gox may not yet have been told their registration has been approved. Come to think of it - the story doesn't actually say it has been approved. Is approval necessary? I assume Gox has to get some kind of response before they can breathe any easier.

[vokain]

"According to FinCen's website, the agency received Mt. Gox's registration on Thursday" where the WSJ conveniently found it in time to publicize it on Friday.

A government agency receives an application and publicizes it on its website on the same day or within a day? Hmmn.

Gox may not yet have been told their registration has been approved. Come to think of it - the story doesn't actually say it has been approved. Is approval necessary? I assume Gox has to get some kind of response before they can breathe any easier.

Is registering the same thing as applying?

edit: nope, found my answer

FinCEN doesn't approve registrants. It processes the registration and enters them into a database.
PirateAt40 could register as an MSB and they would still list it.
What registering does is express intention to comply with the regulations.

[aigeezer]

"According to FinCen's website, the agency received Mt. Gox's registration on Thursday" where the WSJ conveniently found it in time to publicize it on Friday.

A government agency receives an application and publicizes it on its website on the same day or within a day? Hmmn.

Gox may not yet have been told their registration has been approved. Come to think of it - the story doesn't actually say it has been approved. Is approval necessary? I assume Gox has to get some kind of response before they can breathe any easier.

Is registering the same thing as applying?

I don't know how it works. I would guess you are not registered until you get some paper back from FinCen. Otherwise companies could just say they had sent in their registration and it must have gotten lost in the mail.

[bitcoinstarter]

That was getting sketchy!

[aigeezer]

"According to FinCen's website, the agency received Mt. Gox's registration on Thursday" where the WSJ conveniently found it in time to publicize it on Friday.

A government agency receives an application and publicizes it on its website on the same day or within a day? Hmmn.

Gox may not yet have been told their registration has been approved. Come to think of it - the story doesn't actually say it has been approved. Is approval necessary? I assume Gox has to get some kind of response before they can breathe any easier.

Is registering the same thing as applying?

edit: nope, found my answer

FinCEN doesn't approve registrants. It processes the registration and enters them into a database.
PirateAt40 could register as an MSB and they would still list it.
What registering does is express intention to comply with the regulations.

Wow - so if it really does get lost in the mail it gets messy? "He said, she said".

I'm still wondering how an incoming registration makes it to a government website so quickly. That's not any government service I've ever seen.       

[bitdigger2013]

From FinCEN website:

The inclusion of a business on the MSB Registrant Search Web page is not a recommendation,
certification of legitimacy, or endorsement of the business by any government agency.

The MSB Registrant Search Web page, which is updated on a weekly basis, contains entities that have registered as Money Services Businesses (MSBs) pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations at 31 CFR 1022.380(a)-(f), administered by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Information contained on this site has been provided by the MSB registrant. FinCEN does not verify information submitted by the MSB. Information provided on this site reflects only what was provided directly to FinCEN. If an error or incomplete information is detected on this site, the registrant should follow the appropriate instructions for correcting a Registration of Money Services Business (RMSB) form.

[Book]

Mt Gox looks like it's turning into the bitcoin equivalent of paypal. Soon there will be random uncalled for account limitations too. I will probably be using trusted exchangers on forums like this one. I hope a good unregulated exchange site emerges soon, one completely out of reach of US law enforcement so people can just do their trades without extended verification.

[molecular]

so more of our money flows to the parasites.