The article specifically says Bitcoin is thought to be too transparent for terrorists to use seriously, and that the gov't is more worried about the possibility of new, les traceable cryptocurrencies being developed.
Excellent point. Here in the US, we have payoffs to government officials on the local, state, and national levels.
I like the idea of a Bitcoin like currency with 100% transparency in universal use. Privacy is important to me, but if everyone on earth had access to all financial transactions that would help stop corruption. Use case: turning my personal software agent to free to evaluate candidates in upcoming elections, not invest in companies if I dislike who they do business with, etc.
There are many ways to evade such a system already. For example, one of our ex-PMs didn't get any money from a certain company; they just paid €25M to another guy, who was such a friend that he paid for the ex-PM's home, hired his wife and driver, bought thousands of copies of his book, etc.
