Volume don't tell you anything about new entrants. Once people are in they usually tend to stay in.
Most newbies start out small, get comfortable and then wait for a dip to get in much larger.
If the 10 thousand new entrants per day were all going in with a thousand U.S. to start, the market cap would look at lot different.
There are hundreds of thousands just lying in wait, in hopes of a large dip. It gives the confidence and feeling of having just as good a chance as those that got in a few years ago.
I'm not sure we could ever see bitcoin at a hundred bucks or litecoin at 5 bucks for that matter. If it does happen I would only see that as a "gift" to buy more. I would also start hounding everyone I know to buy in or buy more.
Imagine when all the new crypto heads decide it's time. When they decide to buy in for a few thousand.
It's almost reminds me of a virus, slowly spreading in secret but not yet communicating with each other or alerting the bodies defenses. Then, when the time is right (perceived bottom) they hit it hard.
Market cap don't show that nor does the current price. I think the next big dip, if it can get just a little lower than the last dip, will be followed by a massive surge of new money and new investors.
As for btc..I used to be a maximalist but when you have to spend 40 buks to do a small transaction we lost the fight.
Some of these alt coins will take center stage as the big guys get more "centralized" with regulation and decreased user satisfaction through higher transaction fees and times.
I can't wait to see the next 18 months outcome. That is a long time in crypto and much will change. When people say "Steem" could be the currency for the near future, overtaking btc, I don't automatically discredit those words.
Even coins like "Burst" for example has a real chance to pull through this and come out in a leading position.