AnonyMint, what is your opinion of the value of Bitcoin as a hedge against the dollar?

You say that one of the major problems with bitcoin is that, to the average consumer, it doesn't fill a real need.  With the way Bitpay and Coinbase operate, bitcoin has essentially become a "digital fiat system".  And I certainly see your point.  Bitcoin is 100% pegged to the dollar, and to most people, it doesn't really offer any practical advantage over the current system.  As is, it is unnecessary, and as such, it can not grow at a similar adoption rate as new technology that fills an immediate need, like the washing machine.

So if we buy into your log-logistic adoption rate and admit that growth is slowing, how would any impending economic instability play into the equation?  Because if I remember correctly, you have written in the past about economic cycles and how we are due for a serious downturn towards the second half of 2015 (forgive me if I am wrong, it was a while back than I recall reading it).  If this is true, how would this effect the bitcoin economy (and the crypto scene as a whole)?  Wouldn't such a downturn create a void, a need, that bitcoin would then fill, thereby increasing the rate of adoption vs before the economy went south and that need was there?  The entire ecosystem as it exists now, this "digital fiat system" as you put it, with merchants only "accepting" bitcoin through companies like bitpay and then immediately turning it into fiat, would change, would it not?

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on bitcoins role in such a scenario.