Crytocurrencies != smart contracts. The original premise of bitcoin was essentially to create a decentralized fiat currency. As its value grew the thesis then c

Crytocurrencies != smart contracts. The original premise of bitcoin was essentially to create a decentralized fiat currency. As its value grew the thesis then changed to equate more of a decentralized digital gold/inflation hedge that's easier to store and authenticate than actual gold. So that's one use of crypto. In the non Web3 world, we typically have to rely solely on the financial institution providing the service to make transactions. That is, we have to have a Paypal account to withdraw from Paypal. We can only buy/sell Robux on Roblox, etc. Smart contracts allow us to essentially utilize any provider we want without the provider having custody of the funds at any given time. I can go to any dex I want and transact without depositing funds. The dex also cannot agree to perform a transaction and hold my funds hostage, like how Paypal screws over some of their merchants with their "internal investigations." I can also buy/sell coins that the dex mints (e.g. ORCA coin) anywhere I want. It's not tied to a single account nor is it tied to single exchange. And that's without getting into NFTs, flash loans, LPs, and other features of Web3.