re: Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme—the Internet’s favorite currency will collapse.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see whether I am correct and governments will be able to identify Bitcoin users from their use of Bitcoins. The validation procedure requires positive identification of the Bitcoins and their owner. I'm confident that governments have people with the technical skills to recognize a singular user of Bitcoins by monitoring who is requesting and making validations as Bitcoins get used in transactions. And as Bitcoins become accepted by more and more merchants the authorities have more sites they can monitor for Bitcoin activities.

Once a specific Bitcoin user has been singled out tracing down the identity of the user is something that law enforcement has already demonstrated it can do. Even private parties have had success in tracking down internet users who make their presence known in a peer-to-peer network. Just ask those who have been sued by the RIAA. I'm willing to bet that the organized efforts of law enforcement organizations will be successful in tripping up fools such as yourself who think they are too technologically sophisticated to be caught.

You can go on in the belief that law enforcement will be helpless against Bitcoin users. But already law enforcement has its feelers out requiring any business that is subject to Bank Secrecy Act to track its customers. How much information on its customers has Magic: the Gathering Online eXchange collected to date I wonder? Do you think the customers raised their guards prior to making trades through Mt.GOX?