I like to think of Bitcoin as both; an asset and a currency. At the moment, the media is mostly right. Bitcoin does act like an asset; a very volatile asset I may mention. Bitcoin is not accepted as a payment is most stores. I guess Japan is the exception to that, but in Australia, Bitcoin is not highly utilised as payment. I cannot use Bitcoin as a payment method for most activities such as buying groceries and the like. The main reason for this is what I mentioned before. Bitcoin price is extremely volatile making it a very bad currency. Thus Bitcoin becomes more of a asset. However, I have to add that Bitcoin is still accepted by a few merchants. These few vendors are the entities who uphold Bitcoin as a currency. Otherwise, Bitcoin would be purely an asset like gold.
Just to add, bitcoin may be considered as an asset due to the long-term investments of its price by taking advantage of its volatility but it is more than just an asset. To give you an example, bitcoin provides windows of opportunity to people who are either employed, unemployed, underemployed, and even students due to the campaign signatures preset around the forum. Another thing, on some wallets there is an option for you to pay your monthly obligations using bitcoin and this provides convenience to all people who utilize this option.
