I do think it is the AOL of crypto in some ways. The problem is, all the public saw when they got a taste of it during the last bull run was high fees, slow transactions, community instability, and bickering, and then went back to their debit cards and day to day lives, I know plenty who found this to be the case. In terms of the public eye, it blew any chance of a mainstream adoption in the near future, though this may change in the long term. The lightning network is too complex for the average joe for now. I was getting paid in BTC for work, now I don't as they have rolled back their support of Bitcoin due to the volatility and the fork. So what I have seen is merchants actually stopping acceptance, not starting.

I think it has a chance at becoming a settlement layer or store of value, so will be a digital store of value rather than digital cash. I think something like NEM or Ripple is best placed for the digital cash front. Bitcoin has the advantage that it was the first.

This is coming from someone who has been in BTC for the long term. Does it have a future? yes. But there needs to be some radical changes and time needs to elapse. If like me you have any holding of Bitcoin, it is a long-term not a short-term investment. The 'get rich quick' days are over.