Why would they use bitcoin if they can use the US dollar? Cash has no track record and they don't need to exchange bitcoin to USD and after to cashout the USD to get the cash they want in the end...
They
do use the US dollar, quite a lot more than Bitcoin I'm sure. But how is Nathaniel Popper supposed to spin that into a New York Times article?
If this news is true, it will only hasten up the government to put regulation in place, at least with regulation, it will still be difficult for them to use because if KYC, before they can move money in and out of the market at large quantity, at least they will do KYC and with KYC, government will be able to trace them easily.
That's the argument, anyway. Get ready for $1,000 KYC thresholds -- if not outright mandatory KYC -- to use most Bitcoin exchanges, services, etc. Enjoy the wild west while we still have it. It won't be around much longer!