[mumblemumble]

I would expect it to get worse, over time, too. When the block reward was high, it meant that the (strictly financial) cost of actually operating the Bitcoin network was covered by Bitcoin dilution, which meant that everyone was paying it pro rata based on how much Bitcoin they actually own. As the block reward decreases, though, it increasingly has to be covered by transaction costs. That's going to progressively price people out of participation in the direct Bitcoin economy.

I can see using Bitcoin as a primary wealth store, similar to gold. I agree, it would have most the same social features, which seems problematic since none of that is really in line with Bitcoin's original political vision, but I'm not sure Bitcoin's original political vision is anything more than a piece of nostalgia cherished by people sitting on the periphery of the contemporary Bitcoin economy, anyway, so maybe that's no big deal.

The bigger problem I see with Bitcoin relative to something like gold is that it has some troubling practicalities. It's theoretically much easier to steal vast sums of Bitcoin in one go (because 1,000,000 BTC wouldn't be quite as subject to conservation of momentum as a tonne of gold bars would be), and it's definitely much easier for vast sums of Bitcoin to accidentally poof off into a crypotgraphic pocket universe where nobody can reach it anymore.