Risk and reward should be in balance if you want to see Bitcoin as the type of currency people would actually use as a significant part of their economy. The first miners may have risked some (real) money, but that is nothing compared to the massive wealth¹ they would hold if Bitcoin ever did supplant local currencies — even if people used it just for coffee.

The amount of (untaxed!) wealth owned by those early miners would dwarf that of Gates and Buffet. That kind of Ayn Rand level of capitalism doesn't seem to agree with most people — although it does seem palatable amongst Bitcoin aficionados.

1: https://cointelegraph.com/news/who-owns-bitcoin-universe-fro...