This is a good discussion topic, you may want to raise it in the main crypto currency thread.
But my thinking is that crypto currency is more like cash, but with the enhanced benefit of being able to easily transfer it over the internet.
So think of it as a replacement for entire companies like Western Union or other cash movers. It's not going to replace credit card companies who offer security and reversal of payments. But credit card companies could somehow incorporate crypto currency, maybe?
I think that cash is still able to be mis-used and suffers from the negatives you pointed out, yet cash is still legal to use. So, just as cash won't be banned, crypto currencies won't be banned.
My personal opinion is that the countries who have banned crypto currencies are just knee-jerk rejecting new technology, and they will eventually come around after more time. The US and other countries will lead the way, showing how to regulate it etc., and then the "scared of new tech" countries will grudgingly follow suit.
As far as GPU pricing, that will be fixed when mining ASICs come out. I think it already happened when Bitcoin mining became unfeasable with GPUs, and then went bonkers when scrypt-based coins came out. The same pattern will repeat, and GPU pricing will drop at that time.