Will Blockchain Grow Without the need for Crypto?

Once again I feel like the little man gets squeezed by the big man and the big man wins.

https://www.coindesk.com/dtcc-milestone-11-trillion-derivatives-gets-closer-blockchain/

Within the article I read this:

"And, unlike ethereum, the DTCC implementation of AxCore does not include a token – though both Axoni and Palatnick confirmed the system is still powered by a form of "gas," implying a parallel to the way transaction fees are paid on the ethereum blockchain."

In other words, they are using the etherium model without tokenization. Also it's important to mention that AxCore isn't a token platform that anyone can invest in. Rather it's a private company backed by big time VCs. The inherent problem with this is how smaller currencies will be implemented in the future. A number of companies, rather than adopting a current blockchain technology, are choosing to invest in creating their own blockchain with their own form of "gas" which eliminates the need for these public ICOs. It's just some food for thought.

I also found this article about blockchain firm R3 interesting...

https://www.coindesk.com/distributed-ledger-consortium-r3-closes-record-107-million-funding-round/

I have so much hope for some of these currencies and want to see them grow exponentially just like bitcoin but I feel like so many industries are choosing to create their own blockchain or go with a private platform rather than implement one of the platforms available. Good luck finding any R3 coin and their platform Corda on any coin exchange as the only discussion of them in the token world was when they shared a partnership with Ripple which ended some time ago and not on the best of terms.

I just keep seeing this kind of news which makes me weary of new ICOs and some of the more promising currencies on the market today. The more we see this kind of behavior the harder it is to invest in the blockchain as a small guy. The exact problem blockchain was trying to fix is exactly what is happening to blockchain itself! A few people at the top reap all the rewards while the smaller investor doesn't stand a chance.

An additional fear:

Ive seem a serious uptick in the number of banks getting behind the blockchain tech and discussing ways to implement the technology. The technology that was formed to essentially eliminate them. I believe in the saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" and the more banks I see hopping on board the more I feel they're trying to implement it only in a way that is favorable to their needs. Create strong regulation to stop blockchain tech that isn't favorable to their needs and implement blockchain tech that is.

Anyway that's just my two cents. what do you guys think? Am I misreading these signals or reading too deeply into this?