I absolutely agree, the bitcoins themselves can't be taken away and neither can person-to-person trade in them.
But you do agree that Mt. Gox sitting there with several million euros frozen in its accounts (for whatever reason) and with its bitcoin accounts inaccessible (even just for a while) will be pretty damaging to the project? And even more damaging to the people who, unlike, say, me, are NOT just playing or experimenting with this concept anymore? The pure person-to-person volume is tiny; if it could easily be scaled, then exchanges would not have arisen.
But you do agree that Mt. Gox sitting there with several million euros frozen in its accounts (for whatever reason) and with its bitcoin accounts inaccessible (even just for a while) will be pretty damaging to the project? And even more damaging to the people who, unlike, say, me, are NOT just playing or experimenting with this concept anymore? The pure person-to-person volume is tiny; if it could easily be scaled, then exchanges would not have arisen.