The fluctuations, both up and down, in the bitcoin value do not make it more plausible substitute currency.
Can bitkoyn replace ordinary money? No. There are two big problems in the battle: it is unstable and its processing of transactions is too slow.
The most important feature of the currency is that it is a stable depository of value. The stable value of the currency is the key to investment, because those who invest expect the stream of future earnings to get back their investments plus some profit. Instability in currency values means that the investor can not accurately predict the value of these future revenues.