If US indeed doesn't care about exchanges operating in different countries, i believe y'all have been taken for a ride by a couple of foregnese exchanges (BTCT was registered in Belize, as i remember -- a compatriot of Active Mining, who also hail from there). Why would the two biggest exchanges just pull up stakes & abandon their trusty milkers?
I agree that being small, insignificantly small, makes an exchange irrelevant & not worth an international stamp it would take to squash it. My point is spazzing around the interwebz & yelling "we're licensed and legit" is not the smartest way to stay off the radar.
You are still failing to realize that there is a huge difference between an unregistered exchange in a country that requires registered exchanges
and registered securities; and a registered exchange in a country that does not require registered securities.
According to SEC's own website, they do not include panama as one of the countries that enforces SEC jurisdiction.
Source:
https://www.sec.gov/about/offices/oia/oia_cooparrangements.shtmlA banana republic kept alive by the good will of its protectors is not likely to let a Christmas card from Uncle Sam go unanswered. It's both poor manners & harmful to its health.
You are living in a fantasy if you think a superpower like the US can dictate any countries laws it wants simply because it is "the protector" as you put it.