Is bitcoin really a decentralized Ponzi scheme?

I’m skeptical if I want to invest in bitcoin or not because I’ve heard people say it’s a Ponzi scheme, and their logic makes sense to me. So now I want to hear the other side of it, why should I invest in bitcoin?

The claim I’ve heard made is that bitcoin is rarely used as a cryptocurrency anymore and that most people instead buy it as an investment hoping it goes up in value overtime and they can sell it for more than they bought it for, but being able to sell it for more means there needs to be people who are willing to buy it for more than you bought it for, and the people who are buying it from you are thinking the same thing you were, they want it to go up in value overtime and then sell it to someone else for more than they bought it for, and so on and so on. If it is a Ponzi scheme tho I honestly don’t care as long as I’m one of the people making money by getting in on it early before it collapses. So if I invest how do I know I’m one of the people who got in on it early enough and not one of the people who got in on it too late and is going to lose all their money