The mining community cannot change how Bitcoin works. Even if 100% of miners were to change their validation logic to accept more than 21 million bitcoins, none of the nodes running the Bitcoin software will accept the change. Bitcoin is governed by the nodes running the software, not by the source code.
The description of the 2016 DAO event isn't entirely accurate. Given the huge sums involved ($18 billion at current prices), hopefully the real story will be reported one day.
From the article: If Bitcoin's market capitalization were to match that of gold, it would be worth over $500,000 a coin. This is why some investors are so bullish on Bitcoin.
Perhaps it's more accurate to say that investors are increasingly bearish on the dollar.
To answer your question: Yes. The volatility is a trader's dream.
I've been holding a sizeable Bitcoin position[1] since 2011, but I'll acknowledge you can make a killing trading in bull markets or crushing bear markets.
As Warren Buffett wrote in his 1985 letter to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway: "What could be more advantageous in an intellectual contest—whether it be bridge, chess, or stock selection—than to have opponents who have been taught that thinking is a waste of energy?"
Yes, I'm aware that an article from January 2017 has data backing up an assertion about global Bitcoin trading volume from 2012 to 2017. What is your point?
At its core, the current cryptocurrency craze is simply an unprecedented wealth transfer to China from the rest of the world.
Until the end of 2013, Bitcoin was predominantly traded for US dollars. However, after the crash of 2013, miners consolidated in China and Bitcoin mostly traded for Chinese yuan[1]. At the start of 2017, regulators in China cracked down on digital currency exchanges[2] and trading quickly moved to Japanese yen and, more recently, South Korean won[3].
All of the early buyers are selling. This won't end well.
There is no limit on the supply of ETH, whereas there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins in existence.
It doesn't make sense to speculate on the price of ETH, because it's never going to be scarce. Even the current price of ETH makes no sense, except you need it to buy into ICOs.