18 months of downward price pressure has not been fun.
Agreed.
Their first impression could very well have turned them off permanently.
Disagree on this. This would be akin to someone having trouble with email back in 1999 and still to this day, refusing to have an email address because a few emails were lost or never made it to the recipient. I can't imagine anyone today not using email because of 'an experience' they had with the tech ten years ago.
If we keep the long-term perspective in mind and consider the benefits the technology offers (decentralized, trustless record keeping and open, secure ledger), it's safe to say it'll have a role to play in the digital infrastructure of the future.
Price is certainly important, but I look at it like this... if Bitcoin were a human female, price is her level of physical attractiveness... she's still developing and right now she's learning about the world, developing intellectual and social skills, figuring out her creative talents... some of us can already see how beautiful and smart she is, but that's because we've taken an active interest in getting to know her. As she get's older, more people are going to notice she's attractive and start showing more interest in her, but for now, she's not on their radar. For those watching her grow up, we already know she's going to be a heart breaker, and thankfully there are tons of bright minds making sure she'll have the brains to match.