There are (and always will be) people who see no good in the Internet. I played a small part in its growth in the early 90s and even I have pangs of regret over what it has become. AND there was a lot of grift and lawlessness in the early Internet -- that is what paid the bills at first.

However, at the time I was able to articulate all the ways moving X, Y and Z to the Internet would make things better -- for hours on end -- and I would 'win' those arguments. OTOH, all my crypto crazed associates have trouble doing that same thing today. For years, the argument ended up being "I got in early and now my 'investment' is worth X amount." It has been an end justifies the means proposition.

In the end, the Internet was judged by its exponential growth and adoption. There was a mad rush of, arguably, useful activity going on... for years. Everything I wished for and pushed for back in the day has come true -- monkey paw curse and all. Bitcoin's use has actually gone down afaict, the market value of it is the only metric people care about.