Ether should be worth at least twice as much as its current value. Why isn't it? The same reason cars aren't all electric.
Big business creates vested interest which influences policy. In the case of energy it's oil. Exxon et al prefer production lines jammed with v10 ford and chevy pickups so that their profit margins continue to explode. They smother competition with their clout in politics. Though the alternative energy industry has boomed in recent years it took longer than it should have thanks in large part to comfortable oil ceos in suits reluctant to forfeit their polluting money.
Let's shift gears (so to speak) to currency. Why is it that technology, which has infiltrated nearly every corner of human life (social, workplace, recreation) has yet to go mainstream in currency exchange? The tech is there.
Facebook was able to take off very quickly due to the fact that it was novel. There had never before been a social networking platform allowing people to connect over their devices. Cryptocurrency is novel too, but its INDUSTRY is not. Humans were able to trade wealth before they created fire thousands of years ago. Neanderthal 1 gives Neanderthal 2 a wooly mammoth coat in exchange for a bride.
The medium today is the same but the currency is not. Since the advent of a monetary exchange system wealth exchange has driven dynasties and destroyed civilizations alike. Today the Rothchild family, similar to the bourbons in France, own the wealth of the world with numerous central bank holdings internationally. Central banks in turn influence the amount of money in people's pockets which affects everyday purchases at the grocery store (or Amazon Fresh).
Along comes cryptocurrency, a novel platform for trade using existing technology to ensure the security and validity of each trade through a network of decentralized nodes. Because node 1 doesn't necessarily know node 2 there is less risk for collusion or in the case of the Rothchilds nepotism. Much like the oil CEOs before them the Central Bank owners will do everything in their power to prevent a currency revolution.
Let's hope this time it doesn't take 10 years for the CEOs to wise up. For now I'm holding onto my 10 ether and using a silver ingot as insurance for the day when the market realizes physical currency is not the answer in the digital age.