I think the reason why you're getting so many different answers (ponzi, digital-gold, digital-cash, hyperinflation-hedge etc.) is because Bitcoin is not the sam

I think the reason why you're getting so many different answers (ponzi, digital-gold, digital-cash, hyperinflation-hedge etc.) is because Bitcoin is not the same as any other money/currency/asset in existence, and people are trying to figure out what it really is and what its uses are. Here's a fact though, Bitcoin is the hardest form of money ever created. With "hardest", I mean the most difficult to mint new quantities of it. That's why some people call it digital gold, because up until now, gold was the hardest form of money available. I think it's actually the most difficult for people in rich western countries to see the value proposition of Bitcoin, since they're used to having strong, stable currencies and rule of law. If you live in a country with 20% inflation and/or expropriation of assets, then Bitcoin is a way out. Bitcoin does have a payment system, but IMO people who compare it to Visa or think that it should scale to handle everyday transactions are misguided. Eventually only very large and very valuable transactions will be made directly on the blockchain, and other transactions will be done on higher layers, like the lightning network. Concerning Bitcoin being decentralized, it is, but I guess you dispute that due to a lot of hash power being in China. The Chinese miners are however individuals and not some uniform block who all think and act the same. Also, the mining pools are made up of individuals who can fairly easily switch to other pools at a moment's notice. Of all the cryptocurrencies, BTC appears to me to be the most decentralized.