I read the document and was quite surprised that MtGox had agreed to an exclusive agreement in the first place with Coinlab.
I would have thought that MtGox would have the upper hand in negotiations since they're really the only option given their dominance as an exchange player. Do we have any insight as to why they even agreed to an exclusive agreement for US/Canada transactions?
It wouldn't be a bad idea IFF there were rev-share. If MtGox made $x/yr for their customers now, servicing the US ones badly, selling the US market to a better-capitalized, better-operated US entity might make them more money.
In a rapidly growing market like bitcoin, selling their entire future earning potential without revshare would be pretty silly, though.
It's a 60% MtGox / 40% CoinLab rev share for existing customers according to the contract. But by my reading it also says that MtGox will continue to (badly) operate the exchange, so I'm not sure what the point is. Maybe they think improved regulatory compliance is worth giving up 40%.
I would have thought that MtGox would have the upper hand in negotiations since they're really the only option given their dominance as an exchange player. Do we have any insight as to why they even agreed to an exclusive agreement for US/Canada transactions?