Mozilla is releasing their $30 smart phone throughout India, Africa and other parts of asia, which runs BTC quite well. BTC was never a good idea for rich westerns, credit cards are better for almost all circumstances. The un-banked is where it is for BTC, especially since those cultures know very well not to trust their governments with their money, you think Indians buy gold cause it looks pretty?

Lots of people here seem pretty depressed about BTC at the moment, but if you ask me it is only just starting to find its feet. So you are not all going to be rich enough to retire in the next 6 months. Suck it up, this is not about you.

FAQ entry: Prove me that Monero is not yet-another-shitcoin.

Same thing here.

Not only currencies, it also applies to some precious metals: gold (XAU), silver (XAG), palladium (XPD), platinum (XPT) (X+chemical symbol).

(offtopic)
Asia is overrated, especially China. China has huge internal problems of many kind which are already kicking in - the Lewis Turning point being a reliable indicator among many others (like a long history of not being united and the tendancy to rest on his laurels, see Ming Dynasty).
Now, if you include India in Asia (you should), this is more plausible - it has the largest population in the world and it will continue and demography is a potent instrument; they also have a 50-years plan on thorium that is about to rise, thanks to their world's biggest reserve of thorium, a much less dangerous nuclear fuel than uranium.
Still, by 2050, I'd start considering Africa.
And by 2070 spatial nation-states/corporations should start becoming a force to be reckoned with.
(/offtopic)
Mmmm... black market import/export dealings of thorium with monero? <= this was an attempt at getting on topic.

I keep watching the market cap between Monero and Darkcoin narrow.  Somehow I think when they finally cross it's going to be over.  Monero will launch. 

I have a fleeting suspicion that the next margin that will be hunted will be LTCs rather than BTCs... I'd imagine more than a few people went long on LTC because they figured its short-term bounce back would be a greater percentage than BTC.

Not a bad article, http://cointelegraph.com/news/112259/op-ed-is-bitcoin-ready-for-the-major-leagues

Interesting part:

A Death by Trading

One of the primary causes for price instability in commodities is the amount of trading and speculation that goes on. Particular groups try to corner certain markets by buying a great deal of the commodity, thereby driving up the price that consumers pay at the market. There is no real reason why Bitcoin cannot fall into the same trap as we get closer to the last mined coin. The above examples of people trying to corner the market are extreme examples. But even regular trading has a sometimes horrid effect on commodities as is evidenced by speculation in the energy industry.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to keep Bitcoin as decentralized as possible and as much of the currency as possible out of the exchanges and in the economy. Money on the trading floor enriches only the traders and owners of the commodity, not the end-consumers or people who buy the final product. Meanwhile, money that continually flows through the economy keeps it healthy and liquid.

Not like day/week traders care, but they are partly responsible for killing or slowing down BTC's success.
To everyone else, spend your coins when you have the option.
If you don't want to lose your amount of BTC, buy back the same amount which you'd otherwise spend in fiat.
Do this until it's not necessary anymore because you get your 'paycheck' in BTC.

As for speculating, the price will rise. You are delusional if you don't see the rapid increase in adoption from serious companies.