You are looking at a part of crypto, it's not crypto if it doesn't enable illegal activities. Whether this double-edged sword is net positive is the real question!

It's an inevitable side effect. The day before the knife was discovered to slice animal flesh, someone had already killed their enemies with it.

I buy a few totally legal things from sellers on the other side of the world who can't (be bothered to) get to transact with visa/mastercard. A lot of people can't get into a traditional bank, a lot of people are fed up with how complicated it had become to simply receive money in a timely manner, and reliably.

That's whats coming out of the crypto space: a borderless payment system.

It's often criminals, porn businesses, then gamer, then teens, and then the rest who adopt new good tech. It's okay,it takes some time, those who don't see the value in crypto will eventually pass away.

Look at people being fed in Venezuela and South Sudan: https://eatbch.org/

Also in Venezuela there are people surviving thanks to cryptocurrencies protecting them from hyperinflation and capital controls.

DIDs are probably the most relevant. See https://www.w3.org/TR/did-core/.

Some cryptocurrencies can only send funds to a receiver by interacting with the receiver wallet. Those at least are somewhat ransom-resistant.

The real projects are being built in the background. You cannot find them right now but they will rise to the surface eventually and they will help to drive Bitcoin's value as a reserve cryptocurrency.