"There are so many paths around this chokepoint it's hard to conclude that it will ever amount to anything long-term."
I can only hope you are right. However, I have to confess I don't make a lot of investment decisions based on hope. I note that there are abilities native to government, and dovetailing interests between utterly corrupt government and their corrupting oligarchs, that may create unprecedented censorship.
us-court-orders-every-isp-in-the-united-states-to-block-illegal-streaming-sites
I am unaware of any court except the Supreme Court that might have the authority to issue such an order, but IANAL, and am neither confident states that seek this kind of power would put up much resistance.
Censorship is worsening globally, and crypto is vulnerable to censorship. The dead internet theory is a pretty dire prediction of what is happening to the internet and such free speech as remains available. I'm not making a prediction, but I'm neither denying the powerful are intent on taking more power, against our will if need be.
Unbanking has been weaponized by government, as we have witnessed it being used against protestors in Canada, and in sanctions against Russia, as well as on Paypal, Patreon, and even more than a decade ago when CC processors like Visa ended the ability of tribal reservations to sell cigarettes online by ending their ability to take CC payment.
It is this vulnerability I avoid by not using banks or centralized exchanges, having already been robbed by Citi and discovering the courts were not able to provide relief. If you can devise a means of secure communications by which crypto can be traded, I am confident you will be critical to freedom and prosperity all too soon.
Thanks!