[bb88]

I think a good question is, is there a market for renting asic mining gear?

Yes, but only if mining the coins via renting is cheaper than buying them outright.

If you're a miner, it makes sense to rent out your gear, because you get a guaranteed payment higher than you could make via mining.

[PeterisP]

I've heard an opinion (but I'm not certain) that mined coins are considered less traceable than purchased coins.

For any purchase, there's a trail that leads to you through however you paid for it; for mining, the mined coins are totally disconnected from the hardware that mined the block and how you bought it.