Hong Kong-incorporated 796 Xchange offers an online stock market for Bitcoin companies, as well as futures, financing and IPO services, all priced in Bitcoins, according to its website.
This is concerning.
The story is describing an investment in an online-only stock market that operates on the internet, under the radar of regulators.
These "stocks" traded probably could be named cyber-equities as they generally are for "assets" that are not necessarily legally-defined entities. One of the "stocks" 796 offers (and the "IPO" that the story described) is for 796 itself (796Xchange-MRI).
Any responsible reporting should caution the reader on the risks of such a market.
Either way, what is concerning is how the author of the article doesn't segregate the issues. Bitcoin is like a commodity. To date, no regulators have described Bitcoin as a security. But these cyber-equities exchanges are not Bitcoin. It's like describing how Germany's regulators described Bitcoin as being a legal private currency there and then extrapolating that into describing how that will legitimize purchases on Silk Road.
Bitcoin and the ways it are used are completely different topics!
