Coinbase - Regulated & Licenced US Bitcoin exchange - Good or Bad?

[Kprawn]

We have all seen the news, about Coinbase being the first regulated and licensed US Bitcoin exchange.

People are devided into different groups, when this is discussed :

1. People who says, it's a huge move for Mass adoption.
2. People who says, it's a blow for Bitcoin/crypto currency privacy.
3. People who says, "Bring it on, it will open up new legitimate channels for new buyers"
4. People who says, "They bring nothing new, we need a decentralized exchange"

Where do you stand on this issue, and what do you think would be the 100% solution to all exchange issues, to prevent another MtGox fiasco?

[Nagle]

I don't believe the "regulated and licensed" hype. At best, they're a licensed money-transfer operation. They don't even have a money transfer license in California.  Here's the official California list.. All the other companies with payment systems are on there, from PayPal to Venmo. Not Coinbase. And no, the list isn't wrong; I called and checked. No Coinbase.

[Elwar]

Good for Bitcoin.

Bad for trolls/bears.

[Kprawn]

I don't believe the "regulated and licensed" hype. At best, they're a licensed money-transfer operation. They don't even have a money transfer license in California.  Here's the official California list.. All the other companies with payment systems are on there, from PayPal to Venmo. Not Coinbase. And no, the list isn't wrong; I called and checked. No Coinbase.

Could the fact that they only announced yesterday, be the reason, why it's not updated on the official list? You should post this on reddit, or tweet it and try to get a correct answer.

The hype was spread on most mainstream media, so some people will have red faces, if this is not true. 

[BTCXE]

good for bitcoin adoption and acceptance

[Sindelar1938]

Great news for adoption in the US, in my opinion
International expansion also worth watching

[Sindelar1938]

$75mn is a lot of money that will no doubt fuel adoption globally
Excited

[ajaxmoor]

We have all seen the news, about Coinbase being the first regulated and licensed US Bitcoin exchange.

People are devided into different groups, when this is discussed :

1. People who says, it's a huge move for Mass adoption.
2. People who says, it's a blow for Bitcoin/crypto currency privacy.
3. People who says, "Bring it on, it will open up new legitimate channels for new buyers"
4. People who says, "They bring nothing new, we need a decentralized exchange"

Where do you stand on this issue, and what do you think would be the 100% solution to all exchange issues, to prevent another MtGox fiasco?

You might want to add another group of people who say " TO THE MOON " .

[Come-from-Beyond]

Good for Bitcoin.

Bad for trolls/bears.

Market is not agree with you. At least BitcoinWisdom says so.

[Elwar]

Good for Bitcoin.

Bad for trolls/bears.

Market is not agree with you. At least BitcoinWisdom says so.

I should have added bad for alt supporters too.

Price before rumor of Coinbase news:
$230

Price today:
$260

Price at the bottom: $152

We are on our way up. The bottom is in.

[Come-from-Beyond]

Price before rumor of Coinbase news:
$230

Price today:
$260

30$ difference is even below price dispersion. Looks like Coinbase had 0 (zero) effect. And this is actually good, because it could be worse. A lot of USA citizens now got a legitimate way to sell their bitcoins.

[Elwar]

A lot of USA citizens now got a legitimate way to sell their bitcoins.

You could always sell your bitcoins via CoinBase in the US. You could also always buy.

But this allows investors and traders in the US to more easily get their money onto the exchange to do more day trading.

[Come-from-Beyond]

You could always sell your bitcoins via CoinBase in the US. You could also always buy.

But this allows investors and traders in the US to more easily get their money onto the exchange to do more day trading.

If it was possible to exchange bitcoins in the past then what does "Regulated & Licenced" mean? That they were doing it illegally?

[Elwar]

You could always sell your bitcoins via CoinBase in the US. You could also always buy.

But this allows investors and traders in the US to more easily get their money onto the exchange to do more day trading.

If it was possible to exchange bitcoins in the past then what does "Regulated & Licenced" mean? That they were doing it illegally?

They previously met the federal requirements. Now they are meeting state requirements which require millions of dollars and a lot of time to obtain.

[Come-from-Beyond]

They previously met the federal requirements. Now they are meeting state requirements which require millions of dollars and a lot of time to obtain.

Thank you for the info. At least now it became more clear to me.

[BitCoinNutJob]

We have all seen the news, about Coinbase being the first regulated and licensed US Bitcoin exchange.

People are devided into different groups, when this is discussed :

1. People who says, it's a huge move for Mass adoption.
2. People who says, it's a blow for Bitcoin/crypto currency privacy.
3. People who says, "Bring it on, it will open up new legitimate channels for new buyers"
4. People who says, "They bring nothing new, we need a decentralized exchange"

Where do you stand on this issue, and what do you think would be the 100% solution to all exchange issues, to prevent another MtGox fiasco?

I think its a good thing to have regulation.  1.) we can have decentralized exchanges if regulation is a problem 2.) we can make bitcoin 2.0 if its a problem

[Q7]

When it says regulated and licensed, I hope there is certain control put in place like for example, an audit taking place where they have to allow external accounts auditor to perform a check. For me that is fine and with that, hope to see all the other exchangers follow the same as well.

[Kprawn]

Well the investors, who wants to do everything by the book, will welcome this.

How do you explain to the tax collector, if you bought 200 Bitcoins at $10 on LocalBitcoin, from a guy on the street, and now you want to sell those Bitcoins for say $3000 on Coinbase.  

So for some, this will have no affect, but for the person, who runs a legitimate company or a personal investor, this will be welcomed.

The bigger investor, would possible have a more legitimate vehicle to enter the Bitcoin environment and it will give them a more secure environment to trade in.

[jabo38]

We have all seen the news, about Coinbase being the first regulated and licensed US Bitcoin exchange.

People are devided into different groups, when this is discussed :

1. People who says, it's a huge move for Mass adoption.
2. People who says, it's a blow for Bitcoin/crypto currency privacy.
3. People who says, "Bring it on, it will open up new legitimate channels for new buyers"
4. People who says, "They bring nothing new, we need a decentralized exchange"

Where do you stand on this issue, and what do you think would be the 100% solution to all exchange issues, to prevent another MtGox fiasco?

1. This will be helpful for adoption.  It is another +1 for BTC and each time we get a plus, we get closer.  This will by no means be the tipping point.  We still need an "Amazon" level announcement for that.

2. It is not a blow at all.  People that are using Bitcoin for privacy can continue on using the same channels they were already using which wasn't Coinbase to begin with.

3. This is by far the strongest argument here.  Do you know that basically 95% of BTC volume is traded in China (Even Coinbase's coins are currently processed out of HongKong).  The exchanges aren't regulated and carry a definite risk of Goxxing us.  Few very rich people will be willing to buy 10's of millions of dollars on a Chinese exchange.  You are just about as likely to see that same person on the bad side of town shooting dice.  The just want touch it.  But with Coinbase and the future ETF from the Winklevii, the whole picture will change.  Coinbase will become the #1 exchange for volume and the ETF for futures.  Both will be in the US and both will be regulated.  Right now China is faking numbers, colluding, squeezing people out for a cheap buck, and just generally playing games.  And they can do so with no consequences because they are the market leader, but with these developments legit and honest operations will become the market leader which will to some extent force China to be honest too.

4. We also need a decentralized exchange, but look, the reason why we need a decentralized exchange is for "trust", but trust need not always be achieved through decentralization.  Until we get there, the level of trust by a regulated and insured Coinbase with best practices can allow people to feel safe.  This is the best 2nd case scenerio and the fears of getting Goxxed are gone except for people that keep their funds on shady exchanges.

[jabo38]

They previously met the federal requirements. Now they are meeting state requirements which require millions of dollars and a lot of time to obtain.

Thank you for the info. At least now it became more clear to me.

To be a little more clear, they were previously legal on the federal level and on the state level of the one state they were operating out of, but not the other 49. 

Now they are legal in 25 states and so therefore are expanding functionality.