It was never intended to solve that. As described by the bitcoin paper, it solves the problem of decentralized cryptocurrency which is minting and preventing double-spending without a central authority.
Payment channels can solve scaling issues in blockchains just like various settlement layers solve the slowness of bank transfers. Some people don't want such a solution, but it's still a solution.
Development doesn't happen the way we want. Some people want cryptocurrencies to stop existing, which seems unlikely. Bitcoin's development is really thorny because of diverse interests and general incentivized hostility; that's just reality.
Maybe a faster blockchain will gradually take Bitcoin's market share. Maybe Bitcoin will remain quite valuable. If you know a certain answer to this, there are large profit opportunities!