You wrote: In the end, the Bitcoin bubble may have been a net good for society.

If the receipts from the bubble has gone adequately to those who would develop the cryptocurrency network further, then the above statement would hold very true. The financial loss on the broader scale will be dwarfed by the the opportunities to come.

If the receipts were sort of lost in the market trading and cashed out partly by the miners and the exchanges, then the jury is still out.

Finally, if the receipts have led the general cryptocurrency ecosystem in to a slumber focused on price than on utility and even furthermore if it has driven ordinary participants & investors away for the foreseeable future; then the bubble might be very bad for the cryptocurrencies and possibly not a net good for society as well.