Having an anonymous currency is a double-edged sword. Since it does offer privacy by being untraceable- it also means that once it is gone from you there's essentially no way to get it back.
I'm sure as bitcoin gains more traction there will be options to protect money....possibly insurance, etc, just like normal currencies. I'm not investing in bitcoin or trading it in any form, but I do think it is interesting how fast a currency has become valid just for its pure anonymity.
But what is anonymous about the biometrics palm reader on the Bitcoin ATM machines? Biometrics Palm Reader = 1984
Yeah right, try to move just a couple of million US dollars via Bitcoin (or other similar online payment processors) and see if your transaction is still "anonymous"...
Bitcoin provides anonymity for the identity of the holder, but when you try to exchange bitcoins for fiat currency the anonymity aspect is gone. Since the blockchain is a public ledger of all transactions, it's very easy to track the stolen money and exchanges like mtgox actively monitor if stolen coins are deposited in their network and will lock the account and report it to law enforcement. There was the Pirateat40 who stole 500,000 bitcoins, who never provided any credentials or his identity and was still caught by law enforcement.
As Bitcoin becomes more popular and more widely accepted, why would one have to convert bitcoin into USD or any other currency? If one never has to convert it, or in very small amounts, it would still be virtually anonymous. Of course, most people who value the anonymity are converting it the other way around - from USD to bitcoin so they can use the bitcoin to purchase anonymously and not USD or whatever currency. There is nothing illegal currently about buying bitcoin with USD, however, buying drugs or what have you off the black market with bitcoin does provide anonymity which is one reason it is so popular. Are there challenges to solve to keep it anonymous? I'm sure there are. I myself do not participate in bitcoin, so the rise and fall does not affect me personally, but I think it is very interesting to see the developments of what it started from and to what it has become.