But mostly I don't care. Do whatever you like as long as you're not hurting anyone. On average people are getting misinformed about some technologies, at worst willingly grifted. But I've seen worse technology trends come (and, by the way, go).
Any cryptocurrency's monetary value is derived from exchange with the others — wasteful PoW titans like BTC and fraudulent wildcat banks like Tether.
By participating in ANY openly traded cryptocurrency, you're participating in that economy that AS A WHOLE is involved in wasting power, fucking the GPU market, and massive financial fraud.
Viewing any coin in isolation is completely stupid. Coins don't exist in a vacuum, you MUST have a holistic view.
Your argument is like screaming that the Internet is full of porn and fake news and that any use of the internet (e.g. buying doilies on Etsy) is participating in that economy.
Also, it's not the case that any currency (crypto or otherwise) is derived from exchange with other currencies. It's derived from it's exchange for goods and services. If I can incentivize someone to do something with a cryptocurrency, it has value.
A couple people buying VPN accounts and weed are a tiny drop in the ocean that is all the speculation. The vast majority of cryptocurrency usage is fueled by the "get rich quick" hype.
Have you never gone through the exercise of comparing alternatives before? Or evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of competing technologies?
And all the other crimes that are made much more efficient/difficult to detect.