Also "Bitcoin traders have been less than pleased with the realization they have to pay taxes on any of their earnings" isn't a fair statement. I have spent a lot of time reading on crypto currency forums this last year. I think most people (aside from some of the more libretarian / anarchist "taxation is theft" folks) were aware that that would be some kind of capital gains tax on what they cashed out. What people didn't realize was that you would get taxed per transaction on unrealized gains.