If Vertcoin doesn't take on some type of anonymity it'll be replaced by one that does have an adaptive N factor and anonymity. It's not about what government wants, rather what people want that use a currency. People use cash for a reason even though you can buy anything with a credit card by swiping it through your cell phone now days. A large pull for cryptocurrencies is that it's a safe haven from excessive taxes and expansive government power. The question for Vertcoin is whether it wants to be digital cash or only a replacement to credit cards. My thinking is that credit cards work fine. That's not what we're trying to replace. My hair stylist only accepts cash for a reason and it's small business owners like that who we want to target. If a coin is taxable it's worthless because I might as well just use dollars.

The argument that and anonymous currency can be used by criminals is weak at best. You could say the same thing about gold. Gold bars could be used as payment by gangs because they have no serial numbers and can be melted down into jewelry that can smuggled in and out of countries. All the governments in the world can yell about the evils of gold but nobody is going to listen to them because they see the real value.