You bring up some very good points. I do think that economic downturn will spur investment in cryptocurrencies...but the beauty of the technology is that I don't think you have to bet on economic collapse to see it come to fruition. Just like the phone replacing telegraph, the benefits of blockchain technology will just become more and more apparent as the tech matures.
Investing in fiat currencies so often is an investment in conflict, or the speculation of conflict. However I don't think crypto has to be that way : ).