Interesting POV, certainly possible given the speed at which the world is changing.
Hypothetical Question:
Not taking into consideration current adoption or first mover advantage but comparing two crypto currencies hypothetically conceived at the same time with the same particulars (emission, etc.) one with a public ledger such as bitcoin and one with a private untraceable one which one would be valued higher and why?
What people think is important changes constantly. Decentralized and trustless systems are interesting right now because people are starting to get weary of being subject to the whims of banks and government bailouts. However, future events may increase demand for centralized banking and trust-based systems in general.
Privacy is no different. It's a hot topic right now, but who knows what we will find important down the line.
The main takeaway here is that even if these technologies fall out of popularity, we will always have them in our back pocket should the need arise.