That's only the MSB regulations, though. What really surprises me is that nobody seems to be talking about the securities laws! The securities laws are far more byzantine and far-reaching than the MSB regs. Yet, there are investment pools, informal "stock exchanges" and "stock sales" - none of which comply with state blue sky regulations or the '33 Act.
Indeed. I have always operated under the assumption that these operations are so clearly unlawful that it is better just to stay out of them. Additionally, many of these alleged "securities," which basically do not come near complying with the legal requirements for such things, are for "businesses" that are little more than outright Ponzi scams.
They are essentially unlicensed and unregulated "stock exchanges" in which many participants act in as lawless and unprincipled a manner as one would expect.