I just wanted to mention the Technology/Gartner Hype Cycle....it fits well with the Bitcoin price chart.
As you can see there is a lot of initial interest and the hype builds the prices up beyond sustainability.
Then when the short term speculators cash out and the price dumps...the real value of the technology builds back up at a rational speed.
There are still many years of growth left in the second half of the cycle.  GO BITCOIN!

http://avc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Hype-cycle-600x413.jpg