There isn't currently a huge demand for public crypto currencies but I see a lot of demand from enterprises (particularly in financial services and supply chains) for blockchain. The tech is iterating to solve for these needs.

I don't think that means public crypto has failed or will go away. It just needs time to mature as a technology.

Fwiw, I find it interesting that OP says public crypto failed because of both fundamental misunderstandings and immature tech (internet trying to compete with newspapers in the 80s). Eventually, the internet was able to compete with newspapers and I think eventually public blockchain will compete with centralized companies.

Networks can benefit from economies of scale without the rent seeking bottlenecks.