If it's actually on chain as a smart contract, it can't be shut down unless the code was written to allow it.
And there goes the blockchain.
I'm shocked it hasn't happened already given the fact that many popular blockchains allegedly host illegal images in the transaction metadata. That's all the FBI needs.
The only reason I can imagine is that blockchain and crypto are still useful to people in certain positions. Exfiltrating money from foreign regimes, etc.
Crypto isn't useful for that. The thing that's actually useful for that is the illegal, unregulated exchange that's making the trade. It doesn't matter what currency they trade it for, it could be anything else besides crypto tokens. Crypto actually just adds extra unnecessary steps because the end goal is almost always to get it back out in another local currency. Unless you plan to get the money and then only spend it on NFTs.
That perception of weakness is significantly more costly than the existence of the target, especially when you can just control human minds via saying things like “look at how much energy it uses and it does nothing at all!” — and most people will believe it!
For anyone who isn't familiar with that story (maybe there are other cases, I'm not sure)
Seems more like (a very dark form of) trolling