The article makes some good points, but I don't think goverment involvement is the single most likely explanation for the facts we are able to observe. In my opinion, it is equally likely that Bitcoin is simply an elaborate Ponzi-type scheme.
Think about it. A group of people with probable backgrounds in mathematics, cryptography, software development and economy bands together and creatse a new kind of digital currency. They gain control of a large chunk of the total money supply in the beginning when it is easy to do so. Then they wait and hope for widespread adoption. Thanks to combination of the the hard limit on money supply and general mass psychology their currency hugely appreciates in value. They now have a large amount of money in their hands created from nothing but the work they put into creating BTC. All that is left is to cash out at some point. The latter is admittedly difficult to do without it being detected, but that doesn't mean that it won't happen at some point.
Ponzi scheme requires breaking trust in promises. Satoshi was not giving anyone promises or taking anyone's money. Everyone voluntarily evaluates safety of the protocol and decides to mine or buy bitcoins from others.
Think about it. A group of people with probable backgrounds in mathematics, cryptography, software development and economy bands together and creatse a new kind of digital currency. They gain control of a large chunk of the total money supply in the beginning when it is easy to do so. Then they wait and hope for widespread adoption. Thanks to combination of the the hard limit on money supply and general mass psychology their currency hugely appreciates in value. They now have a large amount of money in their hands created from nothing but the work they put into creating BTC. All that is left is to cash out at some point. The latter is admittedly difficult to do without it being detected, but that doesn't mean that it won't happen at some point.