# Gavin Andresen
# 2010-06-30 21:21:46
# https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=227.msg1898#msg1898

I am not a lawyer. @p{par}

But it looks to me like No, just running Bitcoin doesn't make you a "money transmitting business."  To be a "business" you have to be charging people for your service. @p{par}

If you're running Bitcoin to buy or sell goods or services in exchange for bitcoins, I'd say you're not in the money transmitting business. @p{par}

However, if I were to start a company in the business of buying and selling Bitcoins, or that was a Bitcoin payment processing intermediary that took a percentage of transactions between buyers and sellers, I'd talk to a lawyer and jump through all the legal hoops (looks like here in Massachusetts I'd need a license and would have to post a $50,000 bond). @p{par}

Or to put it in more concrete terms:  I am not a money transmitting business when I use my credit card to pay for something from Amazon.com. @p{brk}
And Amazon.com is not a money transmitting business just because they accept payments. @p{par}

However, Amazon Payments, Inc. (Amazon's Paypal competitor) @p{(bf}is@p{bf)} licensed as a money service business in a bunch of US states. @p{brk}