Reserve demand can only hold up for so long.
This is true. Reserve demand for gold has only held up for several thousands of years. Our high-technology and globally-interconnected economy appears to now be shifting reserve demand to digital assets:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=68655.0Please let's not compare something that isn't replaceable to something that is replaceable. When people start telling that Bitcoins success is guaranteed by the success of gold, then is the time when serious investors skip because of excessive cult behavior.