I have absolutely zero regrets regarding the people that left the train during the bubble. Most of those people were either ignorant or get-rich-quick gold diggers that understood from hard lessons that Bitcoin is not meant as a tool for getting-rich-quick. We should not think of those people. Plenty of people stayed and have continued to build Bitcoin and the infrastructure of the Bitcoin economy.
We still don't need people who think this is a get-rich-quick scheme by the way. I hope the new investors that are coming on board right now understand Bitcoin better than the ones that came on board last year.
I agree with this totally... However, I would say that currently, the principal short-term value bitcoin holds is its convertibility to fiat, and that the aggregate goods and services available in bitcoins don't justify the current market cap (~50 million USD) on their own. I'd say the primary reasons for value are 1) guaranteed scarcity, 2) convertibility to fiat, and 3) growth potential of an emerging market.
I'm curious whether we're on the verge of another bubble. I think we are, but I don't think it'll go as high as the previous one because of more market maturity. I do think BTC are currently undervalued, (for me, price target is ~$8), but I think the market will overshoot.
-bgc