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Do you really believe that the CEO of Paypal[1] and Western Union[2] would contemplate in public the possibility of using Bitcoin as a funding mechanism if it were used exclusively by criminals?

1. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/04/30/could-paypal-be-on-ho... 2. http://mashable.com/2013/04/02/western-union-bitcoin/

Liberty Reserve got shut down. Bitcoin can't be shut down.

To the laymen you referenced: https://bitcoinstore.com

If anything : decentralized vs centralized currency.

For the laymen : Nobody owns Bitcoin. Liberty Reserve owned Liberty Reserve.

It's as simple as it gets.

(a) LR was just a company - a company that may have engaged in all kinds of illegal things. Bitcoin is a technology based on a white paper and open source software.

(b) Bitcoin has many legitimate and legal uses.

(c) Bitcoin has unique and useful properties that are not possible with a private (LR) or fiat (e.g. USD) currency, such as having a fixed total supply.