[anigbrowl]

Prototypes fail but clearly people haven't given up on the basic crypto/blockchain idea. A product or service that reliably delivers value (even if imperfectly) will hang around. Look at the draconian penalties for dealing cocaine, or the fairly draconian social sanctions of being caught in possession of it, and yet the trade thrives despite decades of aggressive interdiction. It's going to be politically much more difficult to indict someone for running a gardening or vehicle rental service than a drug kingpin; it's possible of course, but I don't remember a whole lot of public outrage over Kim Dotcom's supposedly nefarious activities.

[vkou]

Cocaine thrives because it is easy to conceal, easy to manufacture, has sky-high profit margins, no legal competition, and because you get paid in untraceable, unrecordable, launderable cash.

Stopping crypto-mixing is much easier then stopping money laundering.

[anigbrowl]

I'm sure it looks that way from the outside.