Technically yes, the code could live on, but the thing about currency/money is that people need to believe in it to be valuable when it's not backed by precious

Technically yes, the code could live on, but the thing about currency/money is that people need to believe in it to be valuable when it's not backed by precious metals or coupons for wine or meals or drinks or violence. And people are skittish and emotional and paranoid. Sure, the project could live on, but it would be more of a toy for ivory tower CS gods (like us) than a tool for world wide remittance and purchasing power and a store of value for clever people with minimal understanding of the tool. It's late and I fear my point may be muddled. But yea, the soft squidgy part of it would die and wither away.