The bubble, ponzi, and tulip comparisons that are frequently parroted just don't fit because bitcoin is a (presumably) non-expirable commodity.

It's a token for a transaction, so no matter what its value, as long as it has an agreed upon value between two parties at the time the transaction occurs, its useful. The censorship resistant, real time transfer of wealth around the globe will always have value.

I liken it more to fine art. It could be worth a lot less tomorrow than it is today, but the genie is out of the bottle, I doubt it can ever crash to extinction.

Just to play devil's advocate, assuming it did crash and the VC and ETF managers took their money and went home, we'd be right back to bitcoin being the official currency of Wikileaks, Tor and Silk Road, which have been getting months of free publicity. There's like a gazillion potheads out there who have just perked up with, 'I can buy drugs anonymously on the Internet?!?!?!'