For me is BTC both. I use BTC for payments as same as I keep my another BTC as an asset for next years.
It is designed to be like this, that's why BTC is almost close to perfection. Remember the early days of gold where it is just another currency that don't have that much value, but through the years, gold has earned the reputation. How about mining? Gold and diamonds need to be mined in order to get some without relying on others. And cloud meaning is the same, in order to get the remaining BTC, miners must do their work or else there are no people who will drive the network and the supply won't be able to increase anymore. In the meantime, you can use it as a payment, and as an investment too, in the long run.