there is a lot that we can do to improve bitcoins and make it better without compromising on the key features of bitcoin protocol ..! voluntary regulation gets my vote here..! but this is not the only concern we are surrounded with as BB[Bitcoin Believers]

Regulation is why we are all subject to this draconian financial system... Same thing with the Oil industry... They use regulation to squash innovators who invented new means of powering cars i.e using water... We certainly don't need regulation at all...

I will vote yes for decentralization though, so that every part of the network can be truly peer-to-peer

Right because clean drinking water and safe food is highly overrated.  Who needs such things?   

Bitcoin can't grow without access to fiat and that legal access is through regulations.  So as much as anyone may not like it, it's going to happen regardless.  Actually, it's already happening so, I guess these debates are really just for the fun of it because no one here has a say in the matter. 

Sorry, I didn't see what you were getting at at first.  But still, it's not the inevitable regulations that will make it easier for new Bitcoin startups, it's the uncertainly about exactly how the use of Bitcoin will be regulated in various jurisdictions that is hindering startups.  The tougher the regulations are, the more competition will be stifled.

+1

I concede that for most governments, issuing clear, light regulation would benefit the Bitcoin economy more than trying to shoehorn Bitcoin into current regulatory frameworks.  All I'm arguing is the lighter, the better, with no mandatory regulations being best of all.

Agreed.

Op has a point,although I don't think he's jumping to the right conclusion.  The best of all possible worlds is where we don't need political help to enforce anything we can get mathematics to enforce for us. 

The question is whether we can get mathematics to do the enforcement on the rules we actually want and whether the rules we can get mathematics to enforce are adequate to create a safe environment for doing business. 

I believe in the fairness of mathematics.  It's the same no matter who you are.  It doesn't cut deals, it doesn't break promises, and it never stops paying attention.  Whatever rules we need math is the best possible way to enforce them.

But the op is right that we need some additional kind of rules to prevent stuff like Gox.  I consider it a question of protocol and individual choices, not a question of law enforcement.

We need protocol to prevent exchanges from doing what Gox did.  And that's going to be more complicated than just digital cash.

If we can't figure out how to get math to do this enforcement,  then we will get stuck with police and politics,  or cryptocurrencies will fail completely.

@OP

You talk about banks, but with the central bank gone, modern banks doesn't make much sense in my opinion.
If you mean "bank" as an entity that provides account, security and payment services for people and companies, those definitely needs to be "regulated", as in adhering to a set of rules.
Loans is an absurdity that our societies should not be based on, so that is out of the question as far as I am concerned.

Personally I think people and companies should educate them self to be their own bank, but I admit that may not work for everyone.