Agreed, it's a waste of resources and capital which could be invested in something that have real value, I.e you have a real stake in a company, property etc, not ownership of a URL which will rot.
They give people the feeling of being "cool, rich, smart, part of an exclusive club" with the click of a button while they sit on their couch doing nothing of importance.
Yes, this space which could not have been invented to better harbor get rich quick schemes, tax evasion, money laundering, and high volatility speculation during the biggest bull market ever -- a space which quickly converts attention into dollars in the age of social media influencers -- is definitely mostly popular because of the revolutionary tech, and "im cool im part of something" motivations. Definitely.