> So what is the point of crypto again other than giving Stripe (and similar centralized providers) a needless cut?
Access to BUSD, USDC, (shudder) USDT, DAI, CUSD for folks across the globe is a good enough reason [0] (right now, the Stripe on-ramp is US-only, but that needn't be the case)? Stripe did bootstrap an alt global payments network in Stellar.org, but that hasn't worked as expected, it'd seem? Stripe is wise to participate in the stable-coin business, which is a way better bet.
MobileCoin, which is embed in every Signal installation, also has Stellar-like features but it isn't mainstream, just yet. Meta's Diem / Libre had similar grandoise visions for an alt payments network given its very global, commerce-hungry Instagram and WhatsApp userbases, but for some reason, they never got the legal side of things over the line.