[ohgodplsno]

So I could become a trusted individual and handle hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions through my homegrown exchange (read: I cloned a git repository) and I will not be regulated because I'm not a company?

Sounds like a solid plan.

[everfree]

Buying and selling property is a tricky thing, legally.

To buy and sell cars in a personal capacity, you don't need a license. But if you run a business with the intent of making a profit by buying and selling cars to other individuals, that's illegal to do without a licensed corporation.

To buy and sell gold in a personal capacity, you don't need a license. But if you run a business with the intent of making a profit by buying and selling gold to other individuals, that's illegal to do without a licensed corporation.

It all comes down to whether the government deems something to be a personal activity or a business activity. Handling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trades may well be considered a personal activity, if you're rich and making a series of OTC trades with a friend. But if you're attracting a diverse customer base and making a business out of it, that's when regulations apply.

A great example of the murkiness of this distinction was the crackdown on localbitcoins. It wasn't the people doing one-off personal trades who got in trouble, it was the people profiting off of volume, doing many trades and capturing the spread. The people who traded with several counterparties, but maybe not enough to be considered a business - well, that's where the gray area lies and personally, I am not a big fan of that gray area.

[landemva]

> if you run a business with the intent of making a profit by buying and selling gold to other individuals, that's illegal to do without a licensed corporation.

Do you have a USA reference for this belief? From my experience and knowledge that claim is not true.

[everfree]

I believe it's mostly a state-by-state thing. The state laws I'm familiar with apply to "precious metal dealers", defined as people who are "in the business" of buying and selling. The laws require a state license and cover things like customer KYC, mandatory transaction records, criminal background checks, and restrictions on transactions with minors.

The critical distinction is between someone who is buying and selling precious metals, compared to someone who is "in the business of" buying and selling precious metals.

[landemva]

It appears TX explicitly exempts from license selling of coins or bars. https://occc.texas.gov/industry/cpmd

"crafted precious metal dealer". And that sounds like a professional license, not a requirement to start a corporation.