So with the recent surge in bitcoin I went and wanted to buy some.
I havent yet found a market place which doesnt require me to have an email address, a phone number with SMS validation and to tell them my real name. bitcoin.de WTF? Might as well give them a blood and DNA sample?
Why is this so? Isnt bitcoin supposed to be pseudonomous?
Yes, but the rest of the world isn't. Financial companies still must comply with laws (tax evasion, money laundering, etc) regardless if they're going dollars to euros or dollars to bitcoins. Much of the current hype around bitcoins comes specifically from recent comments regarding regulation of bitcoin transactions.
Also, you want to buy because the price recently spiked? That's rarely a good idea (whether in stocks, real estate or bitcoins).