This is a major stumbling point to the fixed cap nature of bitcoin; the compensation that miners earn right now is from Bitcoins that are magically created out of thin air, once miners are forced to rely on fees and only fees to pay for energy consumption, as things look right now, and projecting from the trends we see in transaction fees per block (dangerous, yes, but it's data linked to reality rather than hope), absent a HUGE increase in BTC prices, there will be no reason for miners to mine, save for being a loss generating public service. Which brings about the earlier point, if BTC is to survive longer term, either transaction volume needs to increase greatly or the value of each BTC needs to - since most people are counting on the second and not spending their BTC, that becomes the only real hope for its survival.
reminds me of all the fallacies of the value proposition of bitcoin. E.g. bitcoin is not about lowering transaction fees or enabling micro transactions - it's about limiting censorship and exposing the middle man to a true free market economy for transaction processing. If bitcoin is the only way to get money across borders, you'll gladly pay a 10% premium. Expect the transaction fees to go up dramatically as the free world around you crumbles. Bitcoin is build for zero-trust environments and that's where it's utility lies.
Another fallacy is the need for bitcoin to increase in price for it to gain utility. bitcoin transactions "conduct" wealth. Higher bitcoin prices merely increase it's conductance. However, the rapid settlement ability of bitcoin (1 hour) allows deals to go through sequential settlement cycles, effectively compensating for a lower bitcoin price. If a bank transaction of 10 million $ needs 3 days to get processed, you can achieve the same thing with let's say 20 bitcoin transactions, leading to a factor of 20 in bitcoin price flexibility.
What does that all have to do with ASICMINER? ASICMINER is a facilitator for mining technology and is operating in the mining industry. If bitcoin becomes the preferred global censorship proof payment system it set out to be, then you SHOULD expect transaction fees to become significant and SHOULD NOT necessarily expect bitcoin price to increase ad infinitum. The only scenario where bitcoin prices should go through the roof is if it achieves safe haven status, which is a tough one for a 4 year old money scheme. This means that the expected long term yield in bitcoin from mining will be more than the its subsidy.