That's ridiculous. If they want to avoid trouble with CFTC the answer is to register with them, not some home cooked idea that segregated wallets would keep them clean. I simply can't believe that the CFTC would take a second look at their BitGo setup and say "sure, go ahead, no need to register anymore". I don't even believe that was the intention, it's wishful thinking in hindsight by the spectators over at Reddit.
Yeah, it would be stupid if it was the only action. As I understood, they paid 75kusd fine, then applied for the license as well, and did bunch of other compliance-actions. Segregated wallets were one of those.
The exact discussions/dealings between CFTC and bitfinex are of course unknown.
