Wait, why are people paying for it then?
There's also the siren call of the monetization splits for the new blue check system though beyond some early large payouts my impression of it is that it was very disappointing. I'm not even 100% sure without looking if it's still happening or if it's been rolled back.
Which is why it's important not to hide it for an end user - it helps you distinguish between organic posts (non-checked) and boosted ones (blue check).
The blue check is mostly a negative signal at this point, except for the fact that people over certain follower numbers automatically are forced to have it.
It's a really bizarre system.
In essence they redefined "Blue checkmark" from notable person/org to "gives us money" and then directly replaced it with something else.