Let's agree to disagree. Since banks went digital and other modes of digital payment popped up, people have been moving digitally for some time now. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is a catalyst for how transactions can take place in the near future. On the flip side , not everyone who owns bitcoin in the real world wants an extra fee for every transaction made. Plus, the major point is that you need fiat money to buy bitcoin. That in itself is a contradiction to how currency works in a paperless economy.
Being a pioneer, Bitcoin sure did make blockchain and cryptos a reality. This created a new economy entirely aside from the established one. When looking at bitcoin, this has to be considered as a long term investment until crypto gets normalized globally.
The OP didn't say that bitcoin was the first but he only said that bitcoin makes cashless transactions became more popular due to its unique features like being decentralized which cant be found on the rest. Real life events such as the covid 19 have also help people to start using cashless since they can't get out of their house but they must find a way to continue doing a transaction.
Fiat is mostly needed to obtain a bitcoin but there are mining, faucet and so many ways to obtain a bitcoin without needing to have a fiat on hand. Many people look at bitcoin as an investment asset but the default use of bitcoin are actually a currency.