If you custody with a 3rd party, the state can focus their efforts on the custodians, and since the custodians are businesses, they would have documentation showing exactly how much they hold. Whereas individuals holding self-custodially is different, since unlike gold, Bitcoin is a digital asset, and much simpler to hide.
When it comes to using, the individual can always exchange P2P. Granted, in that case buying a house with Bitcoin would be difficult, but buying a used car or other services would be simple enough.