^^^ This is about as simple an explanation as it gets.

To expand a little, if I may, SEC and other regulators are there to try and enforce accountability between real people (and the companies they run) and their promises and duties to investors. A type of enforced trust, really, to give confidence that regulated transactions are governed by well known and long established rules to protect both parties. But, even given the regulatory hoops one must go through to list on a regulated exchange, investors are still well advised to do their due diligence against the promises made by a company. In the end, regulations are really only there as a practical base to allow investors to sue after the fact if promises are made in bad faith.

Given the pseudonymous nature of Bitcoinlandia, these types of regulations are largely unenforceable at a governmental level, as "after the fact" generally means nothing at all since funds cannot be seized by the nature of bitcoin itself. So we are left to regulate ourselves as best we can by way of community-accepted trustworthiness built over time and demand for disclosure, such as it is. But no amount of regulation can really stop anyone from performing a scam.

And another thing to keep in mind: just because you might lose money in an investment doesn't mean it was a scam - a scam requires bad faith. If a company acts in good faith, but is merely slow to fulfill its promises, or misses a few deadlines, or doesn't communicate to your level of comfort, your natural remedy is to sell your shares, perhaps at a lower price than what you paid. Such is the nature of risk and reward. Now, I'm not saying that regulation is something that should be abandoned - on the contrary, I think burnside has done a marvelous job of balancing the demands of the market with reasonable protections for all parties. But he's exactly right in that he's not responsible for the broken promises of anyone that lists with him - it's the sole responsibility of the pseudonymous entity you transact with when you buy shares. If you're not comfortable transacting with that party, demand a lower price to fit your risk model, or walk away.