The law MUST be for everybody. How many people were or are in "custody" for unlicensed money transmitter? MANY !
The fact that CA and NY have not decided yet if and how to regulate "virtual currencies" doesn't necessarily mean that Coinbase operates illegally. If you read past the headlines in the ZDNet and NY Times articles you would see that. Sloppy PR and/or media reporting perhaps (to imply licensing where it's actually a "gray area"), but not the crime you're making it to be.
Wrong : in 2013, Department of Homeland Security had seized $5 million from Mt. Gox’s. Mt. Gox failed to register in the U.S. as a money transmitting company.
I think Mt Gox operated with Bitcoin, right?
Mt Gox was different from coinbase... However report them to the authority come on !