That is right, before bitcoin was ever created, fiats are being used for criminal activities, either paying people to kill people, laundering and other stuffs.If bitcoin is the reason why criminal is ever growing then why was there lots of crimes even before Bitcoin was created.  This is just dumb's reason to prevent Bitcoin to be in mainstream.  Probably those who are spreading news like these are scared that they will be put out of business if bitcoin became globally adopted.

Yeah usually this is the norm in a market place were price go down in the start of year,The mempool is getting empty, fees are getting low again, Lightning network is around the corner. I couldn't be more optimistic.Right now value is unpredictable, but soon it will be at its peak again.

Bitcoin has a lot of features and because of that features people from every field are getting benefits from bitcoin so they prefer bitcoin over fiat.I think it's main reason is bitcoin advantages. Bitcoin is secure, fast transactions, has low fees. We also can buy stuff and pay our bills with bitcoin. That makes our daily chores easier.