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> My main criticism to cryptocurrencies is that they're mostly unbacked.

The fact of a currency being "backed" by something went away in 1933. No currency is "backed".

> This makes me think cryptocurrencies are mainly about speculation more than rebelling against governments and central banks.

Yeah, they are about speculation. Whether investing in crypto rather than some other financial asset constitutes "rebelling" is subjective.

Fiat currencies are mostly "backed" by the necessity to pay taxes and other government fees using them.

The US Dollar has the additional advantage of being the currency through which most large financial trade transactions are required to be paid.

Ultimately, however, this backing is mostly possible through the unexpressed coercive threat of legal action and ultimately force.