If you want to know what bitcoin is and to get the most accurate answer, you should read its white paper, not search for answers online.
But OP's question is what do people today perceive and consider bitcoin to be, a currency or an investment? And if we're being honest, it's clear that the majority of people, including you and me, just see and use it as an investment more than any other use case. We have turned bitcoin into a digital asset for storing value and investing, rather than using it for the purpose Satoshi originally created it for.
Yeah, that’s true. Most people treat Bitcoin more like an asset than a currency these days. The whitepaper shows the original vision, but in practice it evolved into a store of value first, payments second.
It might shift again as tech and adoption grow.It's been over 16 years and we or the world has never seriously used bitcoin for its original purpose. I suspect this will change again in the future as the world propagates bitcoin as a store of value and hardly anyone talks about its original purpose anymore.
Like you, many people also think that there will be a change and in the future bitcoin will be used as a currency. I wonder on what basis and for what reason the world will change its mind about it and use it for its original purpose when 16 years have passed and no one wants to promote the idea? It seems like that's just your temporary thought, without any basis.