Isn't the bitinstant thing going to actually be a net neutral at best? As far as I can see it's just going to create more demand for BTC holders to use them, which means it will actually increase the sell-side of the equation as BTC are converted back to national currencies.
What we need is more actual goods and services brought into the bitcoin fold - this is what makes a currency increase in value over the long term; the faster growth of the underlying product base than the supply of money. I think it's great, this whole debit card thing, don't get me wrong. That being said, the bitcoin economy itself needs more of an actual economy of goods and services.
Nope. If you can use your coins faster you can keep them as coins for longer. And if you just need to -maybe- use them this weekend you don't have to cash them out at all whereas before you had to cash out as much as you might possibly need.
Easier to use ---> better money ---> more valuable
Don't forget people who think "eh, too hard to cash out, I'll pass" now they are in.