I have been a crypto enthusiast for many years. And to me it seems Bitcoin deviated from its intended purpose.
Many things have changed these years, and even the average Joe is now buying crypto.
But many people are not buying Bitcoin because of its usefulness, they are buying to speculate (hoping its price will increase).
And yes, there are better alternatives to Bitcoin, simply because Bitcoin refused to improve. It is in the pride of being the first, but that alone won't make it successful in the long run. It is just not as useful, efficient and cost effective as other options available in the market.
To me, Bitcoin's price is overvalued. And when people see that, Bitcoin will get the price it actually deserves. And when it happens, it may be too late to reclaim the throne.
Admittedly, most people today only use bitcoin as an investment, very few use it for payment purposes. But that doesn't mean it deviates from its original purpose, you can still use it as a payment method if you want regardless of what other people use it for. Just like gold was used as currency in the past but over time it has been used as jewelry, investment or store of value...is gold straying from its original purpose?
Bitcoin is still Bitcoin, the only difference is that people use it for their different purposes.
It would be wrong if you consider bitcoin as just a currency or payment method then bitcoin is overvalued but if you consider it as an asset, an investment. You will find that bitcoin is still quite cheap compared to what it gives us.