Confidence is building. That is, IMO, why the price is rising. I assume this is exactly how it will continue to go (over the long run), if the Bitcoin protocol (or any widely used implementation of it) stays uncompromised. Trust is building slowly, as trust can only do.
I think that the momentum is strong, hope that bitcoin will be able to be a good substitute to Paypal as a form of payment in the time ahead. I do not know how long, but I do believe that bitcoin can play a part in transactions especially over the Internet at far cheaper rates than any of the current payment providers.
In my opinion you are missing the point. Bitcoin is a currency, there is no reason a currency should replace PayPal. If Bitcoin becomes popular, why wouldn't PayPal just allow payments in bitcoins? There is no opposition between PayPal and bitcoin (the currency). Bitcoin
can, in some situations, be used as a substitute for PayPal (because bitcoins are inherently easily transferable over the internet). But PayPal provides a valuable service by protecting users via chargebacks. That service will still be valued no matter how popular Bitcoin becomes.
You are right that Bitcoin certainly has the power to disturb PayPal's virtual monopoly on easy online payments. But if PayPal plays its cards right, it need not be replaced by Bitcoin, because it still has something users value (chargebacks).