Regulation will be coming.
But it will be a good thing, IMO. It will legitimize the currency, end differing definitions of what Bitcoin "is" at various regulators, and probably put in place a framework for ICOs that balances the innovative financing model with some level of protection. They're also looking at chartering limited purpose Federal banks for crypto exchange businesses, which might sound scary but the reality is they would be a big benefit in legitimizing the business model without having to go through the 40+ states that require money transmitter licenses.
Some regulation is necessary for widespread, mainstream trust and acceptance. Which seems counter-intuitive to some extent but that's the fact of the matter.
I really hate it that regulations still need to happen but you are right. Regulations sometimes means that this thing can be trusted and it will give investors confidence to buy cryptocurrencies. I just still hope that our tax department only tax bitcoins if it is converted to fiat.