In a pyramid scheme, the early adopters are immediately given wealth as the new adopters adopt it. In bitcoin, this wealth is notional unless the early adopters sell their bitcoins.

The idea is that the early adopters shepherded the system by holding and mining bitcoin when it was very risky to do so. How risky is it now? With more merchants and more knowledge in the wealth preservation community, it is a smaller risk and its price is reflecting the same.

Bitcoin's present status is similar to that of an asset bubble, and as Mencius Moldbug said, Money is the only bubble that does not pop.

If bitcoin pops, it pops, if it doesn't, then well, anyone who sold at an earlier stage will end up feeling regret.