Bitcoin critics say that the cryptocurrency should never be regarded as a means of exchange because its mostly used for speculation.
I think that's kind of a strawman, speculation itself is not the problem, the fact that Bitcoin is volatile is the problem. And it's not even because people speculate too much, it's just because Bitcoin's future is still uncertain and people are betting on all sorts of outcomes. I'm sure time will fix it all, eventually Bitcoin will become a "boring" asset and speculators will move on to other things.
What most people want and wait is for bitcoin's market price to surge or soar way up higher, not considering the volatility of it as a problem, but the main advantage when people take part in trading it. What the bitcoin future can provide is the creation of other crypto assets, more of a stable coins. These will be the way for investors to have a stable and less volatilie crypto asset not used for speculation, and solely for a purpose of establishing their business using crypto.