Who says the current fundamentals have to support the current price?
I think it is obvious that the current price is based on the expectation that bitcoin will have a higher market cap and is going to be used extensively for payments -in the future-.
No. It is based on the expectation of getting rich quick. People buy bitcoin because the price is rising.
If you wait for mass adoption to actually happen first, you are not going to profit. The profit comes from having the foresight that bitcoin is going to be great. The profit is the reward you get for having that insight and actually betting on it becoming true.
The profit comes from recognizing a price bubble in time and getting out when it is still possible.
What we are currently seeing is just a lot more people getting that insight and betting their money on it. At some point, most people will have some bitcoins, however much they feel comfortable with , just like everyone now has an internet connection or a mobile phone, and then the price will level off.
A "permanently high plateau". We can talk again tomorrow, after you will have seen what the bitcoin price actually does instead.
Probably we will see a few oscilations as the price stabilizes, as we see now on a smaller scale after every jump. Then, we are all set for large scale use. Everyone has some, the price is more or less stable, and the current objections currently often raised (hoarding, unstability, etc) have vanished .
A beautiful dream. They hoped for it because they wished it so much. Reality is rarely so nice.
If bitcoin survives for long enough, this dream might actually come true to some extent. But do not think we are there already. That will take more years and more price bubbles.