It's not just non-governmental currency (in fact, it's rather crappy if regarded purely as e-currency), it's also basic infrastructure for decentralized trust. Currency is simply the most basic application of a fully distributed blockchain.
I said they were "proto" NFTs and one thing they have in common, again from my view point, is that you buy them and hope that someone else will pay you more for it later. Beyond that it's just entries of hope on the block chain.