Let me help you. L1 and L2 based chains are deterministic, programmable platforms that can be used to create applications that can increase productivity. Their "coins" provide the ability for coin owners to benefit from the value created. Not all will succeed but many will. https://twitter.com/PeterMallouk/status/1387391603006922755

NFTs for digital collectibles are an example of an application, as are smart contracts for weather insurance are an example, DeFi to allow anyone to be a lender or a borrower in minutes,
, buying off-chain products with on chain assets, the applications will only grow

If you look at crypto assets whether eth, doge, btc,mkr etc and only see something intangible for people to trade, you haven't really looked. If you see smart contracts and programming languages and think of new ways to disrupt industries then I'm saying there's a chance

Look at all the financial interactions you have in your life for banking, insurance, buying and selling where you have to trust faceless, nameless people working for a company whose decisions can change your life. Would you prefer to continue to trust them ?

Or would you prefer to work with a deterministic, distributed system that is not built on trusting those companies but rather built on a transparent set of rules that are out in the open for anyone to see ? These are the reasons crypto has taken off.

Yes there is massive speculation. Just as there has been at the inflection point of every new technology. And every single one of the technologies has been dismissed by legacy institutions. Until they weren't