The early adopters took a pretty big risk. I think they deserve any rewards they got/have for that risk.
It depends on what you consider big risk. Some of them bought a few $k worth of Bitcoin back in 2011-2012 and they have had a fantastic return.
You need to have steel hands to not sell your $5 per Bitcoin at the time the exchange rate is over $75 per Bitcoin.
I bought at $6 and some more at $15 (looking back, they weren't even good prices for that time). I mined in the GPU days as well, which took a fair bit of effort, so I was also mentally invested, not just financially. When the price increased (can't remember the exact price now, it was a couple of years ago on Gox, but much higher than I'd paid), I withdrew to USD enough to get back my investment back plus a small treat. The most BTC I've unloaded was to buy physical products, as it worked out cheaper than paying in USD (hindsight huh?). As for all remaining coin, I have no intention of selling those (though I will transact with them for products). The only exception is if I think a bubble is reaching stall speed, and I'd then only be selling to get more BTC at a later date - if I trust the exchanges not to fold on me.
There are other reasons I haven't factored of course, such is if medical cover was needed for myself/family/friend, or if it hasn't gained enough traction by the time I reach retirement would be two examples.
