[vectorbunny]

>People do not trust "Federal Reserve notes"

I trust Federal Reserve notes. US currency has high barriers to counterfeiting and can be exchanged for goods and/or services with actual rather than virtual anonymity. I may be a cave man, but I'm not alone. US banknotes are the 'gold standard' of black and grey markets around the world.

[noarchy]

Governments are cracking down on the use of cash in ways that will only help the promotion of Bitcoin. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmatonis/2012/10/17/large-cash...

[vectorbunny]

While I am ignorant of the situation in Spain, it is interesting to note that the two other governments detailed in the linked Forbes article have extreme organized crime problems. I am sure this says something about the role of the rule of law in the bootstrapping of trust.

Integrating licit and illicit revenue streams will always be a foundational issue for any illegal enterprise. I have not looked deeply into the implementation details, but Bitcoin does not strike me as a viable money laundering solution. At the point you move large amounts of value out of the ecosystem and into the 'straight' economy, you require the complicity of bankers.

[narag]

The problem in Spain is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_sector

Estimated to be 20% to 25% of GDP compared to an average of 15% to 20% in the neighborhood.

Edit: as an extra fact, "we" (I've never seen one) hold most of 500€ bills that have been printed.

[vectorbunny]

Thank you for the link. An English translation of the referenced title (Hernando de Soto's 'El otro sendero') is available in the extended network of my public library system, and I have placed a hold on it.

[PaulAJ]

At present there isn't much you can buy with BTC. If the day came when EBay, Amazon and your local shops accepted BTC then that would change, especially if the local shops didn't require ID when you bought something.