Bitcoin Infrastructure
There are a lot of new Bitcoin companies out there that are making Bitcoin easier to obtain and easier to use. For example coinbase which allows you to buy Bitcoins right away into an account. Around some of these new companies such as Circle who are trying to introduce things like Bitcoin banking. Which I think is absolutely ridiculous, Bitcoin was never meant to be banked.
You need to remember that most of these companies have been started by ex PayPal or ex Visa/MasterCard employee's etc. and they want their hands on your Bitcoins. So do yourself a favour and BE YOUR OWN BANK. Use your Bitcoins with companies that you really think are giving you a good service/benefit.
Is Bitstamp ok? I haven't had any problems with them yet but since I seem to pick all the companies that end up scamming everyone I'm thinking maybe I should ask you what your opinion is?
Bitstamp have been pretty good so far, and they've been around for quite a bit. They also have an independent third party audit of their finances. They do require ID verification for all accounts, no exceptions.
As more established companies carry out audits, and they're made available to the public, then there'll be some rest of mind. However, you should still be careful, as it's possible for some audits to be fake.
Thanks so much for this info!
. I agree with vod, though, this thread has served it's purpose. You've established there are little to no girls here so move on to the rest of the board and forget about this thread. 
