The only reason Bitcoin is more valuable then other altcoins is first mover advantage. It's the truth if you compare bitcoin to a lot of alt coins on the technical side Bitcoin is lacking heavily. If the Protocol was updated to do something more like a lot of altcoins do I feel this is what would truly make the Bitcoin price sky rocket.
Any body that would dispute this premise has their eyes closed. All coins at risk of 51% will ultimately be replaced including bitcoin.
Just like all of those beautiful homes in southern California sitting on earthquake faults, it is just a matter of time.
And of our kids will say, "You mean you used to mine virtual currencies??!"