Bitcoin is an 'Oracle' with a token called 'Bitcoin'. Because other people will accept 'Bitcoin' as payment for goods or services, 'Bitcoin' functions as money. Because it uses cryptography we call it 'cryptocurrency', & assign magical properties to it. Long time ago we assigned similar properties to anything ended '.com' - & it didn't go so well.
Bitcoin owes its popularity to first mover advantage, and the blockchain technology that runs it. As it features prominently in a number of textbooks, it is probably never going to go away. And with more people reading those textbooks, demand is likely to increase - driving price and volatility changes. Mougayar (2016) The Business Blockchain. Nothing wrong in any of this, but at least recognize the drivers.
The underlying blockchain technology is the killer app, and it is operating in 'blue sky' - on just about everything it touches. New monopolies are being created almost quarterly, and are in the process of scaling up; once complete they will make the old Standard Oil Trust look like kiddies play.
The potential impact has started to register with the public, but it is being articulated as 'Bitcoin'; ie: the wrong words are being used. Just as many people thought a 'mouse' was a rodent - when the first computers came out.
SD