From Citi FX analyst Steven Englander:
Now that the tedium of the Fed tapering discussion is over, we can go back to what everyone is really interested in – Bitcoin.
One question that keeps popping up is whether all the elements of the current Bitcoin are necessary for a viable alternative currency. And if they are not, or can be improved on, where does that leave Bitcoin’s first mover advantage?
The libertarian streak in me likes the anonymity of Bitcoin transactions, but there is a rational part of me that asks whether that aspect is essential if I am paying for a latte in Soho. Similarly if the Bitcoin wallet can be made more secure by dropping anonymity, how many transactors will give up transactional security for libertarian principle? Giving up anonymity may make Bitcoin transactions more secure, and I suspect almost all transactors will value security much more than anonymity.
The rest of the note is a further discussion about whether Bitcoin can give up some of its more problematic aspects while still being a new and important innovation. But mostly we just thought that first sentence was really funny.