Will we get another chance like this again? A type of media attention that draws in thousands of new people to dump money into the market? Probably not.
Although this is not the first time BTC bubble popped, it is the first time how ever of mass media attention that encouraged a lot of people to invest into it.
Game Over.
Let me tell you why I don't give a fig about "drawing in thousands of new people to dump money into the market".
To me, the goal is this: Bitcoin becomes functional as a currency. I don't care about it replacing greenbacks or transforming me into a millionaire via Austrian alchemy, just that it become a currency that works.
The path that I see to reach that goal goes something like this:
1) People barter with BTC in an over-the-counter way.
2) Big services and companies accept BTC and cash out into fiat immediately.
3) Some people who accept BTC and can pay their expenses in BTC stop cashing out into fiat, and just pay with the BTC instead.
4) BTC->BTC becomes more common, until it becomes possible and natural to pay all your regular expenses with the currency, and exchanges become nice-to-haves rather than necessary for normal use.
Now. The price per bitcoin is falling. The centralized exchanges have proven themselves unworthy and insufficient. And yet, (2) has not been slowed. The OKCupid announcement came after the crash was well underway. OKCupid doesn't care about whether BTC is going up or down! They just care that it'll make it easier for people to give them money!
There's no sign that the current price action will do anything to change (2), because the infrastructure is in place to allow businesses to accept bitcoins without having to worry about the price,
and they seem to still be arriving.
If there comes a day when I can get my salary in BTC, and pay my utility bill in BTC, I will not care how many people are "buying in", because the important part is that thenceforth, anyone who
chooses to can divorce themselves from the banking system, save the fees they would have otherwise paid, and transact online without a middleman.
At that point, Bitcoin will have accomplished its purpose. Everything else will be gravy.
