I was basing it on this message by MagicalTux:
Yup, you were mixing up the "bank account cancellation" problem and the "we can't get a new account opened" one. Different problems, different reasons.
We do not lie to our bank, and that's the reason why we have so much trouble getting a new European bank. We have a full presentation (what is bitcoin, etc) and explain to each financial institution what we are dealing with.
That's a great thing, for them, and for all the customers.
Secondary, neither Tradehill nor MtGox is conducting any financial business. We accept deposits from users for the purpose of buying a service, that's a common system known as "prepaid", used by many merchants around the world. You can ask for a refund ("withdraw"), and that's not a problem either.
That's logical, however, when merchants do that, they don't state on their website that "You are trading with other users of Mt Gox. Mt Gox does not act as a counter party to any trades.", it's a clear contradiction.
Because ok, you're prepaying the fees part, but if mtgox users trade directly with each other it means that all the money that doesn't pay fees is transmitted to the other party directly, making mtgox a money transmission business. Logical isn't it ?
That's also the reason it's not possible anymore to send money directly to another mtgox account from your account, it would make them instantly a money transmission business. The redeemable mtgox codes are a clever and legitimate way to *not* be considered an MSB, because they're accounted for in a different fashion.
We are, however, talking with the FSA about Bitcoin and want them to understand and let us know if there is any specific requirement for us.
How surprising
I don't think mtgox is doing anything wrong, in the morall sense, but I think they are operating in a legal gray zone and should be a little more transparent about it. Doesn't it surprise you that a web based business that handles tens of thousands USD a day doesn't have any terms of service to be found ?
