The price rising is validation for services on the periphery. Established services that can add a lot of utility for bitcoin.
For example, the volatility problem is completely solved by CME Group and CBOE and the CFTC pursing and allowing hedging instruments on bitcoin.
This opens up the market to many market participants, some of which are much larger markets than cryptocurrency has ever touched yet, and obliterates a primary rebuttal on the bitcoin concept.
The decision makers in those organizations would not have considered bitcoin as more than a toy until the market cap was larger. The CFTC has approved cryptocurrency hedging instruments only a few months ago. In 2017, 9 years into the concept.
So what standard of fail would you even be using? What would ever give you validation for more than a few weeks or months?
> but when the crash comes it will be over before you knew it.
Bitcoin has crashed 70%, 80%, 90% several times before. Most bitcoin holders know that is a possibility.
There are market participants that will use it at a lower price, that will buy it at a lower price, and continue expanding the reach of it.
After hedging instruments are prevalent, many market participants won't even be notice the price fluctuations.
So again, what standard?