i didn't understand the potential of Bitcoin until i started to understand the concepts of fiat money and fractional reserve banking and the larger global economic system ... which is to say, i think the "myths" about Bitcoin run downstream from misunderstandings about how our current monetary system works.
i still barely have a grasp on it, relatively to how much there is to still learn. but i don't think Bitcoin will start to be embraced until a larger chunk of the population has a better understanding of how much of a scam the current system is.
also, yes, all the altcoins sort of tarnished the concept of cryptocurrency in general. (perhaps by design?)