Why Are So Many Digital Currency Players Anonymous?

In the age of NSA spying, we understand the difficulty in finding secure channels - but the question is, why be anonymous at all?

Bitcoin itself isn't illegal, and neither are the alternative currencies introduced by people like King.

The prevailing sentiment among those that do choose to remain anonymous is that they might, in the future, if governments change their minds.

"If an authority bans currency development that [sic] maybe I can still continue for a while."

Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, disappeared from the community two years after he launched the project, and hasn't been heard from since.

"Satoshi Nakamoto's decision to stay anonymous was very wise and I don't think it was a coincidence that he left the scene just after Gavin Andresen gave his talk at the CIA.".

"I've nothing to hide. I'm just kind of the middle man, and I have no say over what direction the currency is headed."

For those people seeking to deal with large investors in the digital currency space, it's difficult to be anonymous.

"Bitcoin ownership may prove to be a bigger threat to state control than gun ownership," said one prominent bitcoin entrepreneur, always outspoken in the community, who asked us to keep his comments non-attributable for this article.

What do you think? If you're not trying to score venture funding and charm the regulators into accepting digital currency, does it pay to keep your head below the parapet, and stay anonymous? And should you try to stay unidentifiable even when simply holding bitcoins?