i think they just destroyed their niche now..
oh wait. i see now... greed
" Our increasing interest in the broad phenomenon of tokenization – the ability to “financialize” and bring liquidity to various aspects of business/customer relationships. "
if you read between the lines, it's regulators or law enforcement agencies that are pressuring them. this talk about "legal grey area" and "navigating the regulatory environment" means one thing to me: shapeshift got too damn big, the feds are breathing down their neck, and voorhees is caving to the pressure.
i don't blame him---the risk of not complying is huge. for example, FINCEN fined btc-e $110 million for AML violations, on top of the criminal charges.