Most of HN isn't aware of the non-BTC, non-Ponzi protocols and dapps being built right now.

There are some very cool things like decentralized lending/borrowing, exchanges, cross-chain swaps, synthetics, etc. These protocols are revenue generating (via fees) and are actively used with billions in volume.

99% of crypto will die off, but the small part that survives could be the backbone of a very robust internet-native financial system.

Whether these DeFi primitives will ever be plugged into TradFi systems remains to be seen, but if nothing else, the ability for these protocols to easily interop is a huge win over existing systems.

Even if everything uses stablecoins and all "altcoins" are ignored, there is still value here.

This is personal opinion and feel free to disagree, but I have zero trust in the government and I don't think central bankers and politicians in Washington care about me. I think the current financial system is highly corrupt, broken and fragile.

So naturally, ideally, I want to completely opt-out of their system. So far in human history, we never had an alternative, but now we do. Bitcoin price in fiat may go up or down, but I believe the Bitcoin network will keep ticking with the same mathematical rules and same transparency today and in 100 years from now.

You didn't ask me but I share this sentiment exactly. I think a digital currency is a neat idea. I think banks suck, their customer service sucks, their security sucks. I think the niche of a digital currency that's really like a more distributed Venmo is really cool.