It’s not obvious to me that transactions are the key here. Suppose I want to buy something online using crypto. I buy up $X worth and transfer it to the vendor

It’s not obvious to me that transactions are the key here. Suppose I want to buy something online using crypto. I buy up $X worth and transfer it to the vendor. They transfer whatever it was that they bought, but they immediately redeem the bitcoin for $X, give or take a small amount from market moves. There’s no net demand for crypto here, and the increase in crypto price from my purchase will roughly be offset by their sale. I think the only way to explain crypto prices is through buyers hoping that they’ll be used as a store of value. I don’t agree with that, but that’s a different story.