I share much of what you and others have mentioned. BTC is about 50% of my crypto portfolio. As an investment advisor with a appreciation for precious metals, one thing that has become very real to me over the past 5-6 years, as precious metals went down while the markets went up, is that markets perform - ultimately - based on capital flows. In my opinion, more investors "ought to have" shifted more funds from stocks & bonds, into gold & silver BUT they don't know about gold & silver, believe the FUD, or bought and sold b/c they are not "strong hands". As i see it - most traditional investors and institutions do not own any crypto. IF that changes such that most embrace it as an asset class and give it 1-3% of their portfolio, it would add tremendous market cap to this whole space. What do first time investors do when they enter this space? They buy Bitcoin. Over time, they learn of others and slowly shift some of that. If you believe 2018 will see an meaningful increase in NEW investors with meaningful overall portfolios, Bitcoin stands a good chance in benefiting disproportionately. That said, one must take into account those holding bitcoin already that simply feel forced to manage their downside risk thru diversification by spreading the love around to rebalance with other coins/tokens. Great start in market cap in the new year so far. :)