Well.. I'm one of those that still mined bitcoin with CPUs back in 2009 when it was all the rage on the BBS of those days. It was fun but it wasn't profitable and you'd quickly focus more on daytrading again.

Bitcoin wasn't private, but was a good exercise from cybersec people trying something new without need for trust and a noble cause (separate money from the govs).

Monero was different because it was dirty from the beginning. The team behind was toxic and criminal (they still are) but over the years somehow they switched places completely.

BTC became a collector's item for hipsters and a religious object for those who hope it just goes up at any cost, even their privacy. They never use it for payment, they never mined it, and feds will track you.

XMR can still be mined today on any laptop using a decentralized mining pool which pays very decently in daily basis. Besides the privacy, it does end up being used to purchase drugs, pay for cyber attacks or just give donations for things in the real world.

Tbey are both OK for their audiences. The coin that I'm a fan doesn't yet exist, when that time comes it will indeed be memorable.