I don't think anyone here argued that blockchains are totally free to run, just that developers don't have to pay. Mainly the costs are paid by users, who pay f

I don't think anyone here argued that blockchains are totally free to run, just that developers don't have to pay. Mainly the costs are paid by users, who pay fees to miners for running their transactions. You don't have to run a node to hold coins. A piece of paper can do it.