[jdangu]

Less random than paypal when it originally started. States had to come up with laws designed just for paypal, because an e-wallet was something completely new.

“We’re in uncharted territory, so hard to say if this stuff falls under a particular state’s MTL [money transmitting license] statutes,” says co-founder Fred Ehrsam. “We’re still talking to states to figure out how each responds, but Coinbase is prepared to get licensed where a regulator deems it’s necessary.”

In the meantime, he is continuing to do business, relying on the fact that Coinbase has its AML and KYC processes established.

[1] http://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-gmail-bitcoin/ (Oct 28 2013)

[teacup50]

Paypal isn't pretending to be a cryptocurrency.

It's not much of a cryptocurrency if you hand the plaintext keys over.