of course the price matters. it matters for the people who bought their coins. if the price is stable more people are willing to convert their savings into bitcoin.
Some people who had bought large volumes of bitcoin back in 2009 when prices were 10USD/1BTC are the real profit-makers. Imagine the profit they have made in 2016. Holding the coins is a passive income just because the prices are always bound to increase
Some long-term holders here are saying that most of these people had lost their coins in the Mt.Gox scam, so their number (I mean those who are still alive and kicking, metaphorically speaking) should be really small. On the other hand, they would be real profit makers and takers if they actually booked their profits, i.e. sold at least some of their coins. Otherwise, their profits will remain only paper profits that go as easily as they come. But these types don't seem to be inclined to sell the coins at any price waiting for something which I don't quite comprehend myself...
Namely, they wanna become the new elite as I got it, but I doubt that Bitcoin is gonna help them at all