If bitfunder ever got shut down the individual shareholders can prove they own their shares by signing a statement with the address listed there. IMHO giving the shareholders the ability to prove they are the rightful owners is better than having the asset issuer be trusted with the list. This way the shareholders can prove to the community at large that they own the shares even if the asset issuer tries to deny it.
I hear you, but... If you don't trust the issuer, why would you hold their shares?
There's a fundamental problem if you are willing to give your money to someone you don't trust.
Kind of a soapbox thing for me,
here goes: There's a lot of people that seem willing to trust by website rather than by issuer. This is a dangerous trap to fall into. You need to do research into every single issue you buy into no matter what the site is, no matter how much you trust the site operator. If you're putting what you consider to be a lot of money into an issue, contact the issuer, ask to chat on the phone, get more info. Demand high standards (availability, transparency, reliability, etc) of the issuers, no matter how cool or trendy their idea or asset may be. Don't be a lemming -- Don't trust just because of mass groupthink in the shoutbox or the forums or irc. Read the docs, talk to the issuer, form your own opinion.
Bah, it's probably even a bit OT for this thread, but there ya have it.
It makes me really sad to see people lose their money. 
