Hard currency has seen nothing to the likes of bitcoin7, mt.gox, and cosby coins. Confidence was great when I purchased 1k btc at 0.50$ and sold at 31$. But incase you have not seen bitcoin7, mt.gox, and cosby coins... There is not much left to loose faith in. Bitcoins are already being replaced slowly by systems allowing for faster maturation and therefore (hopefully) a sooner stability.
Bitcoin has had a hard life so far, let us all take a lesson about magic quotes in SQL, ahem i mean "independent contractors". China and several other countries have already outlawed bitcoins. US legislation is soon to follow, provided bitcoins still prove a threat. And now that I have seen yet again another drop in value for more weeks then I can now remember, the threat is lowered, as consumer confidence takes yet another blow.
The golden days are behind us, this at the very least you must admit. Lowered difficulty means more supply, more hacking and price drops means far less demand.