The velocity if money is slowing down basically due to the money being locked in the banking system that cannot be moved. When people understand that easing is really just swaps, then they begin to see what happens. All those deposits are tied up in the banking system and cannot move. Banks are then dealing with reserve instruments that they use to settle each days accounts. This is something that actually produces less money out there, further slowing the economy.
Yes credit card reduction is a good thing. However, loan reduction, overall, is not. Innovation comes from debt funding. If money is a tool of collaboration, then the economy is better served the more that is out there. In our system, which is debt based, that is the only way it gets into the economy. Someone, either individual, government, or company has to take a loan. Obviously the worst of the three is government since they tend to provide a crappy roi on anything they do.
While people complain about debt levels over the last 40 years, and they are huge, the fact is they do not complain about the largest advancement in human history. Look at all there is today compared to 50 years ago. How do you think all of that came about? Where did the money come from?
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I get that. The question is whether much of that advancement would have happened anyway if we had stayed on a gold-backed dollar. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the point is moot now since we can't go back. In the meantime, it HAS led to the creation of crypto. There is a clearly defined need for an uninflatable asset/form of currency. Regardless of whether inflation is a net positive, as @edicted talks about, or not, the fact that bitcoin has gained the adoption it has world-wide speaks to it's relevance and value. There's a lot to be said for something that just is what it is with transparency and immutability as fundamental properties.
I don't know if it will ever replace anything as a currency but....it seems very likely to become a major leg in the world's financial structure.
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