Every important person in BitCoin just got subpoenaed by NY financial regulators
Unpopular opinion of the day: bitcoin is real money, and the government <i>will</i> regulate it and control it as such.<p>In my opinion, the end-game is this: bitcoin addresses are taxable, with occasional tax agents spot-checking large accumulations of bitcoin to determine if said addresses fall within their jurisdiction.  Bitcoin has the unusual ability to have a very tight trace on where a given virtual coin goes: that just makes the ability to watch the money easier.