So, many have been talking about deflation in terms of 'prices down 20% today since yesterday; and will probably be down again tomorrow'. This is reasonable based on the current moves BTC has been making.
In terms of a possible antithesis to the USD though, let's pretend BTC takes over about a trillion dollars worth of M1 - checking and savings accounts - and settles at $100,000 USD per BTC and begins moving up gently along a 3% uptrend. So, now we talk about buying rice today vs. starving to get it .25% cheaper next month; these purchases will obviously still happen.
I don't know if BTC could ever be the only currency in the world but think about if it, or something like it, was. In terms of this type of deflation, how would the world look? Would loans be made at negative rates? Could you borrow at a prime rate of -1%? If so, an interest-only loan might be reasonable. Would people borrow BTC and pay interest only to buy a nice house? Would renting make more sense?
Keep in mind, if BTC were the only currency then only productivity increases and workforce increases would deflate things, so deflation wouldn't be a sure thing at all times. Couldn't we still see temporary inflation during periods of a workforce decline (e.g. Baby Boomers)?
Maybe deflation like this could be a solution and not a problem. Would the world really end as we know it - like they tell us? Would we really spiral downward into oblivion? GDP would certainly take a big hit with that transition but how would we come out of that initial depression?