extreme volatility

You're free to avoid those coins then... volatility doesn't mean bad

many coins’ value can be easily manipulated by whales

Yes, just like for stocks and pretty much every product on the market

most stablecoins are probably one step away of crashing down like Terra Luna

Stablecoins are often centralized so they're not what the goal of crypto was, but sure. Why not hate the coins instead of the technology instead? Stablecoins are a small part of crypto.

resource intensive - you can shout about proof of stake all you want, there are still gigawatts of energy being burned to “mint” bitcoin

If you know this is incorrect, why lie and say crypto is resource intensive when it's only a few that are like that? PoW has its flaws indeed.

no protections because “code is law”, even when the code is flawed

Every software you use is not liable for any problems that occurs with it. Incidents will always happen. All recent incidents involved someone getting hacked by other means, being menaced into sending them crypto (so it could happen to anyone with a lot of cash as well for example, or through offshore bank accounts), or a company stealing people. I'm not aware of any code fail.

Pretty much all CEX are regulated currently. And with AML and KYC coming more and more (which is bad for crypto), the "no protections" claim is really false.

forking risk nearly every year

So? In case of a fork, you keep both coins... so you should still keep the value of both?

the coins that aren’t as resource intensive, have fast transaction times and negligible fees, are unlikely to gain traction or receive widespread adoption

Isn't that the case of Solana? But yea currently there are problems with too many coins relying on PoW, but some just can't do without it, like Monero. It's the cost of having this system.

you still have to go through the hoops of a heavily regulated exchange to get actual money from any crypto you have

That's because of regulation and the banking system, not the fault of crypto? It's because people called crypto a scam that it became like that. You can still use the crypto to purchase stuff with it instead of getting fiat. Receiving money from P2P bank transfers is also similar to this, you'll get asked questions as soon as you go out of the normal way.

People calling crypto a scam don't think this much through. It's just more hard and complex than there is to the eye. Most people interface with crypto solely for trading, and people want quick profit through shitcoins, which is a very bad idea, then complain on the system. You should think twice before investing in stuff you don't understand: whether it's crypto, stocks, NFTs, in game items...