Be prepared for the FUD storm created by individuals who want it cheaper.
Read all about Bitcoin's issues with Counterparty and Mastercoin. BE informed of the tech involved. This is an evolution of the blockchain.
This is as important as anonymity.
No, this is way more important than anonymity. Because in this day and age, real anonymity is a huge red sign to authorities which are worried about terrorism and tax evasion. I think anonymity is overrated and a fad because for 99% of daily usage, it doesn't matter.
VIA however has no such concerns and allows blockchain adoption to reach an entirely new level. If the dev delivers (and I don't doubt he will) this will be absolutely huge; possibly even in ways which would astound all of us at this point.
It would appear btcdrak is finally able to do everything he wanted to do with bitcoin and was unable due to btcs limitations. If you didn't buy into this ipo then this time you really missed the train; and no this is not meant to hype. The proof is in the coin/blockchain.