I think that this slow-down is, in a way, a calm-down before the storm.

Many new services are actually emerging and seem promising - Bitcoin ATM's, marketplaces, even this strange new form of an unbreakable contracts where the two parties can securely trust one another - something you actually can't do with a real FIAT (It's BitHalo http://davtonia.com/halowiki/index.php?title=BitHalo_-_The_world%27s_first_smart_contracting_client ).

Whatever happens, Bitcoin is on it's way to becoming not REALLY a FIAT (if it was, noone would have even noticed it); but a currency used by more and more individuals; for more and more things.