People still sees it as something not reliable nowadays because they're seeing the hype with meme coins. Once the market goes into bull run, sure a lot of these meme coins will definitely going to crash.
Surely, Bitcoin is a good investment option for the long term, but if the person is looking to invest for a shorter period, I think he should try his luck in altcoins. There are certain risks associated with altcoins, but the risk is worth it when you look at the ROI. Altcoins such as ETH, SOL, XRP, MATIC, etc., are good potential coins. As far as meme coins are concerned, they are very risky, but the profit margin is also exceptional in meme coins. Take the example of PEPE, if you had invested a mere $500 a month ago, you could have made over $5k in a month. If you are getting this much profit on your investment, then I think it is worth the shot.
Me as a safer type of investor, I'll put some of it with those that you've mentioned but will still include a bigger part for Bitcoin.
Yes, there are a lot of potential altcoins but you have to DYOR.