Can an individual (non-miner/or miner dealing with coins not mined) in the USA, buy & sell bitcoins on an exchange without needing to register with FinCEN? I still haven't found a clear answer with this question.
Per FinCEN guidance I already answered. If it is done infrequently and not for profit then that exemption applies otherwise registration is required for ALL exchangers.
Tragically, the guidance does not literally exclude non-business miners. By its terms:
a person that creates units of convertible virtual currency and sells those units to another person for real currency or its equivalent is engaged in transmission to another location and is a money transmitter.Note the use of the word "person" not "business". It's my reading of it, given the context, that there is some argument to be made that persons not engaged in mining "as a business" are exempt. But my opinion is in the minority, and it is contrary to the plain text of the guidance.