I think these massive deflationary cycles will only cease when it becomes the currency of record for more than just exchanges.<p>But that's my layman's speculation. I have no economic training. Feel free to repudiate.
I'm a bitcoin skeptic but not for this reason. If this were true than we would have never had a functioning currency until fiat money, but we did. (Since gold, ergo money, was a scare resource as well.)<p>The biggest hurdle to bitcoin is simply that so far it has not registered on the radar of world governments. If bitcoin ever gets to the point of being a legitimate participant in the currency wars, it will be facing the wrath of all central banks and governments. They will find a weakness.