Here's a paradox for you to ponder, though: if Bitcoin's greatest virtue is its scarcity, then wouldn't it also reduce the currency's practical utility?
That's a good way of putting it - think of it in terms of Fort Knox where there is a substantial holding of America's gold reserves. Any country has a stockpile of gold - Bank of England included which is heavily guarded. In time quantum computers might become super weapons cracking private keys.