Bitcoin is regulated:
The main issue here is the propensity to project old systems onto distributed systems like bitcoin core which causes a lot of problems in understanding this new technology.
Distributed systems have regulation ,done by means of code,which we call consensus,which is known by every node which is securing the network.
Bitcoin's decentralized nature affords consumer protection in the most powerful and direct way by allowing bitcoin users direct control over the privacy of their financial transactions.
Bitcoin does not force users to surrender identity with every transaction and put their trust in a chain of "supposedly vetted intermediaries" who must be trusted to control access to ,surely store and protect transaction data and valuable account identifiers.
Bitcoin transactions never expose valuable account identifiers and bitcoin users can protect the privacy of their transactions without relying on or trusting any intermediaries.
The most interesting part is this : because in bitcoin trust is not vested in central actors,there is no need for centralized regulation and oversight.when properly built ,bitcoin financial services are not vulnerable to central points of failure which would necessitate heavy handed oversight to regulation(traditional): INSTEAD,the power lies with the end user whose interests are most aligned with the protection of their own funds: while individual wallets can be targeted and compromised (the same way as cash wallets) if not properly secured,the rest of the network does not suffer centralized systemic risks.
Contrary to popular misconception BITCOIN IS NOT UNREGULATED,rather ;several aspect of the bitcoin network and the financial system are regulated by mathematical algorithms which offers users predictable ,objective and measurable outcomes such as A PREDICTABLE RATE OF CURRENCY ISSUANCE,
These outcomes are not subject to the whims of centralized institutions which can be corrupted or placed outside the whims of oversight like the FED.The bitcoin user can predict the supply of units 40 years into the future or more : there is no drama :
A TRULY LARGE SCALE,SECURE DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM.
EFFICIENT : UNSTOPPABLE.
Any centralized features are the true points of weakness and bitcoin has none .
Mt Gox was a trusted party ,it failed,any failures to follow will always stem from centralized features.
A new revolution in business economics revolution is upon us : Hop in
Any attempts to apply centralized regulation will prove futile to the individuals who will be secured by the whims of "trust" based on central authorities :Doing this will skew protection measures provided by the block-chain away from those choosing to trust a third party and third parties always fail.
On a more anarchistic note :
Crypto-currency technologies will morph into venomous forms in anticipation of an impending attack by dictatorial regimes.
If you stomp on cryptographers and libertarians ,no sooner do you realize that bitcoin was the little gecko technology like Napster was the benign file sharing technology and when you stomp on the gecko you cause it to evolve til it becomes a comodo dragon and it bites off your foot next time.If regulators try to stop bitcoin ,they will end up with much stealthier technologies because evolution of currency will create(of which it has) superior iterations_
Regulators will have limited power and should have limited power.Over the years they have taken our liberty and wealth, nefariously depleted pensions and savings of ordinary people through their policies which always push for regulations which leach wealth away from the least of us.
Regulators themselves are not honest ,and continuously fail in bringing to justice big corps like HSBC and SCB which commit crimes yearly in the order of thousands by count.
Besides If any nation makes bitcoin acceptable as a foreign currency,it will have made it a global power for the next 50 years without opposition or appeal since it will have the support of the people _
FINANCIAL WAR GAMES will be won by the first nation to adopt it widely.
Antonopoulos - Canadian Senate Address,Princeton University - Bitcoin and Crypto-currency Technologies