Bitcoin is quite traceable; but I take your point. To flesh out your position, are there any circumstances in which you believe two parties should be able to transact securely and privately?
It's trivial to make Bitcoin untraceable. See tumblers.
I think people also have this strange idea that the bitcoin ledger must represent all bitcoin transactions. But think for a minute that I can just email you a wallet and the coins just changed hands without putting anything on the ledger.
> But think for a minute that I can just email you a wallet and the coins just changed hands without putting anything on the ledger.
I won't trust that you destroyed your own copies of the keys, so I'll want to transfer the coins to another wallet first thing with a real transaction recorded on the ledger. Otherwise I'm risking that at any time you could take the coins back from me.
Doesn't matter much if it is traceable, as long as it can be converted into actual money. And it can, thanks to dodgy exchanges turning a blind eye or being actively complicit.
I think people also have this strange idea that the bitcoin ledger must represent all bitcoin transactions. But think for a minute that I can just email you a wallet and the coins just changed hands without putting anything on the ledger.