As far as I'm concerned, if the Bitcoin to fiat exchange rate can stabilize sufficiently, then it becomes a better online currency that any single nations currency at the moment.

Better because of reduced fraud and reduced transaction fees.

I don't see any fundamental reason why this can't happen with a non-government crypto currency, but it will take some time... and there will be a lot of booms and busts along the way.

The biggest risk is sadly the US government declaring it illegal.

The people who are pumping up BitCoin now are the same people who pumped up SecondLife.

If secondlife wasnt centralized, this might be a valid argument.

Because they're getting a lot of publicity and people think "Ohhh this seems easy, I wonder if I can get rich on this"

That's been my experience talking to people at work anyway.