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Proponents of Bitcoin tend to view the lack of regulation as a feature, not a bug. With that lack of regulation comes higher risk of losing everything in the event of a catastrophe. It's hard to have it both ways.

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Governments don't regulate technologies, they regulate people. There are a million ways governments (who are also made up of people) can and will regulate bitcoin and the like. The persistent belief among some cryptocurrency proponents that they're invincible to the powers of government is really naive.

Just because there isn't regulation now means jack squat. It's not a feature, it's a side effect of newness and reactionary politics.

But there's no lack of regulatory power here. What Yellen was saying is the Fed can't regulate bitcoin. But the Treasury Department can do anything from nothing to an outright ban.

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