Bitcoin’s price and adoption go hand in hand. without growing adoption, we shouldn’t expect sustained price increases.
Acceptance of bitcoin is possible without reference to price. We could use bitcoin even at a price of $1.
And why do you need growth? I repeat, to use bitcoin, you don't need BTC to cost $10k, $100k or $1000k. This growth is profitable and needed only for speculators.
After all, demand (and thus price) is a reflection of real-world usage.
Real reflection as what? As a means of payment? No. Right now, bitcoin costs $80k. Does that mean bitcoin is widely used? No (actually
yes, but as a speculative instrument). This is a speculative price based on investor's faith in the future growth of this asset, and therefore, they convert money into bitcoin.
I still don't see
coffee or anything else being sold for bitcoin (except for isolated cases).
But here’s the challenge: Bitcoin can’t compete with fiat for everyday transactions yet. So how do we bridge that gap?
You should understand what you mean by mass adoption: use as a means of payment or as a speculative investment tool. In other words,
BTC-mass adoption can have a completely different nature.