I said "5 for a dollar" or 20 cents each. I think the week before bitcoin got slashdotted, the coins were between 500 and 50 for a dollar. There was no exchange, just people making deals in the forum. Meaning, the real "early adopters" were throwing them around like candy.
I see, my bad.
I'm not saying they'll never go up from their current prices. I just think bitcoin is well past the early adopter section of your bell curve.
I'm a rather vocal spokesmen for Bitcoin among my social circle. I've been
blogging about it for the last six months.
I've posted status updates to Facebook and Google+. I talked to a numerous amount of people about it personally.
Still, less than a handful of the people I know actually put any significant money into it. Most of my friends are hackers or geeks in some sense of the way or another, so imagine how little "ordinary Joes" have been exposed to it.
So in my subjective experience, there is still
plenty of room for Bitcoin to grow into. Not as a ponzi scheme, but as something even late adopters will benefit from ... but of course, the earlier you join, the higher the rewards ... and risks.
Also, many short-sighted people will continue to lose money by buying in, watching the price decline, and deciding "this is it" and quitting. Bitcoin should be treated as a long-term investment, that you're willing to fully lose, not as something where you can game the market and extract some money from the next fool ... because you can't (on average).
Regarding price stability - if any merchant (e.g. Silk Road users) want to user Bitcoin as an anonymous tool right now, but without being exposed to its volatility, they can immediately and automatically sell any Bitcoin they earn. Although ... I admit this is currently not perfect since Bitcoins can be tracked (there isn't yet a good laundry service), so they run the risk of their Mt. Gox account being seized at one point, and further connections made. It's much safe for them not to sell Bitcoins right now, but that mandates a certain exposure to an unstable currency.
I guess this answers my question and supports my premise at the same time.
It seems like few are using bitcoin as a currency, but those who are have to use it like a poor western union. (dollars in, dollars out) If people are not speculators, there seems little reason to hold BTC in your wallet just-in-case you might want to buy something.
Right now I believe this is true. I think the most important reason to hold Bitcoin right now is as an investment, nothing more. Oh, and because it's fun!
This will change.