How is Bitcoin not just as glorified ponzi scheme?

Im honestly curious here, not trying to troll. Bitcoin has been around for 15 years now, and it still hasn’t seen widespread, real-world use. It’s not something you can use easily at grocery stores, gas stations, or just in everyday life. I feel like every time it peaks, people start hyping it up as "the future of money," but the adoption doesn’t really seem to match that level of enthusiasm.

Then there’s the question of who’s actually buying it now. A lot of regular retail investors got burned during the 2021 crash and don’t seem eager to jump back in. So, who’s driving these price spikes lately?

I keep hearing about “institutions” investing, but how does that justify calling it the future of money? If it’s only big money and no real user base, how is this different from a pump-and-dump scheme where regular people are just there to create liquidity for early investors?

Am I missing something fundamental about how it works, or are these points valid concerns?