There's always going to be a certain amount of bitcoin activity around, just like there's a certain amount of criminal or drug related activity around. However much lawmakers would prefer to suppress or eliminate that activity, there's always a percentage of people who'll make up their own mind on what they choose to do irrespective of what types of behaviour is preferred or expected.
The main issue with bitcoin is that without formal governmental regulation, it exists on the fringe of society, much like criminality or drugs and with bitcoin occupying the shadowy world between legality and illegality it doesn't provide confidence to those potentially interested parties who would be willing to get involved or those that want to increase their involvement and move forward strongly with the currency.
There's an oft-used phrase in financial markets, "Business hates uncertainty," and there's absolutely no doubt that with bitcoin being essentially unregulated, the lack of clear, accepted international financial, tax and capital gains valuation and reporting mechanisms present substantial headwinds to the continuing growth of the unit.
Bitcoin might not be dying, but isn't thriving either.
What do you want your investments to do? Do you want them to thrive or do you prefer to have doubts about even the viability of bitcoin?
Beware the regulatory hammer that may criminalise your coins at the stroke of a pen.
Remember FDR's gold debacle of 1933 and ensure that you're suitably diversified.
There is no move on criminalizing Bitcoin, even in China, and there are countries that are Bitcoin friendly, like Denmark, Germany and UK.
Also there are already norms about how to handle taxes and report bitcoin gains, in USA and in other parts of the world. May not be the best laws, but they can be improved over time.
We are not one year ago, Bitcoin is not an investment in the gray are between legality and illegality, at least not anymore since the Silk Road auction. I don't think US would sell something they are about to make illegal.
The doubt now is how(and not if) Bitcoin will be regularized in USA and around the world.
Countries making Bitcoin illegal would only trigger a flash-crash; cryptocurrencies would survive through TOR, just like alcohol has survived through prohibition. It gives benefits that many wouldn't mind breaking the law for.
quite funny actually.... (not) 
