ah, but even gold can be highly volatile. that was a 600-700% increase we saw during the '01-'11 bull run! as a trader, that's a hell of a trend to ride. maybe not quite bitcoin-level volatility, but definitely not boring either. the crash saw a nearly 50% drop from the ATH as well.
it's interesting to ponder---how the price trajectory should or will look. it's incredibly speculative, and more than that, there are no comparable assets to study. we often see comparisons to adoption curves (like the internet or cell phones), but no technology ever incorporated a native currency with a predictable, limited supply. it's a totally novel thing that we have no historical comparison for.
I totally agree with your point that any comparison of Bitcoin with anything else is quite inaccurate because of Bitcoin's key properties, but I think it shouldn't contradict my main point that in the long run volatility will decrease and we won't see instant 10-20% price changes as well as bull runs/crashes as often as we see them now. As an example, in the next 10-15 years most countries should make up their mind about BTC, so there shouldn't be any reasons for panics that we experience now (China ban, ETF rejection).