The benefit that the technology brings, sans speculation, should be the same regardless of whether it's a bear or bull market though. What about blockchain technology development that isn't tied to a tradable token?

There is an EIP 1337 "Subscription Services on the Blockchain" that I think will supplement/replace tokenomics. It's what it sounds like, a decentrilized subscription protocol that allows builders to monetize their d-apps with ETH based on recurring payments to access the services.

This is essentially the first step to web 3.0 and a universal login.

people realized there is no such value without the tokens.