We don't have anarchy. Competing exchanges have been regulated out of existance. BitMe.com shut down hours after FinCEN guidance was released saying they would be classified as a money transmitter. If we had anarchy, BitMe would still be taking cash and selling bitcoins.
If he had anarchy, then the operators of ICBIT exchange would be willing to share info like who they are and where they are located. Because trading of futures contracts is a regulated activity in most areas they operate anonymously. When the exchange rate was skyrocketing, over the past weeks there was lots of interest in buying contracts but there wasn't much liquidity. Part of the reason is counterparty risk - who feels comfortable sending larger amounts of bitcoins to sites operated anonymously?
If we had anarchy, or just free markets even, we wouldn't have had such a spike to $266 because hedging and shorting would have absorbed the upward pressure and then on the way down short covering would have provided support rather than seeing a drop to mid-double digits.
We need LESS regulation, not more. We need MORE freedom to transact among ourselves without intervention.
Great post Stephen!