You're actually right, you know. Bitcoin failed at everything it set out to be. It failed to be a currency. It failed to be anonymous and untraceable. It failed to be decentralized. It failed at basically everything except making people rich. The fact it's still the number one cryptocurrency is proof that this market is irrational and couldn't care less about fundamentals. Monero is the better coin in every way yet nobody seems to know about it.

And so what if criminals are using it? It's just like cryptography: you can't choose who it protects. If anything, the fact criminals are using it strengthens its value proposition because it means it works. KYC/AML are just the financial version of global warrantless surveillance and should be opposed on principle just as strongly as we fight for our privacy on every other front. If that makes life a little harder for authorities then so be it.