Fiat currency is based on the government's ability to issue and service debt, which is based on its ability to collect taxes, which is based on the economy it oversees. It's a bit roundabout but the pieces all connect.

Crypto is supposed the compensation for providing compute resources to a blockchain, which ostensibly backs some application with actual intrinsic value. In that sense crypto is real, but there are no actual blockchains which support valuable applications. The entire thing much more closely resembles a ponzi scheme where real currency is deposited, and then the appreciation it experiences is proportional to the ratio of inputs vs withdrawals, without there being an actual asset creating value.