Exactly I agree Bitcoin value first grew naturally means people traded it with each other. Creation of Mt. Gox boosted this growth making it easier for people worldwide to buy and sell Bitcoin. Governments ignored Bitcoin first thinking it was temporary trend but as it became more valuable they started to worry about its use for illegal activities. This led them to force centralized exchanges to require user KYC with this they trying to control technology designed to be free from control. But most people see Bitcoin as investment other than as pay for things and exchanges are big part of that. Bitcoin open ability to send money directly between people would still work even without them. Entire story of Bitcoin is continuous struggle between its original idea of decentralization and rules of traditional financial system.