* Claim was made that Bitcoin made this "cheaper and simpler". That isn't true.
* Which part of the public ledger exactly is anonymous? You say "pretty much all of it", I see "public" and say pretty much none of it.
The difference between us is that I haven't hinged my hopes of personal financial success on a Ponzi scheme, so we're probably not going to see eye to eye.
Also, the only details on the public ledgers (for bitcoin) are the balance, wallet IDs and transactions. If I buy or sell bitcoin you can't tell it was "me" you can only tell that wallet #12345 transferred to wallet #67890. You still have to be careful your Id isn't linked to your wallet in some other way. But until that happens you're as anonymous as it's possible to be really.
* Yes, but same goes for many other services. Transferring value is always a costly process unless you're using cash.
* Pretty much all of it.
Are we even talking about the same thing when we say "Bitcoin"? Because it sure seems like you're thinking of something completely different.