Given the huge price increase in 2013 and the way 2014 started, with a sharp rise to ~1000 and long rest time in the 800s, I'm speculating that we'll see more price stabilization and less ups/downs for a looong time.
Anyway, price is too high for regular people to buy, too high to be used in small transaction like pizza and distribution of majority is in the hands of just a few people.
Check this:
http://bitcoinrichlist.com/top500
You'll see positions 33-36 (4 addresses) and 38, 40, 43, 44, 45 each one with ~30,000 coins, all wallets with last transaction in on Dec 20, 2013 9:07:23 PM. This means about 250,000 coins held by a single entity.
You'll also see positions 79-98 (20 addresses) with about 10,000 coins each, last tx in on Dec 25, 2013 11:26:40 PM. Total is about 200,000 coins.
If we sum first 500 address, that means 4,364,182 BTC. I'm assuming less than 50 people control these 4 million coins.
This mean scarcity and scarcity means high price. High price means less buyers and less buyers mean less volatility.
Welcome to 2014, year of bitcoin stagnation.
