It does, I think. It powers "lair actions", gives powers like interrupting turn sequence, making multiple moves in sequence. When the GM has a pool of currency players can see, there's an unsaid acknowledgement things are going wrong/badly, which helps fuel collaboration in the storytelling aspect. I can say that someone fails an attack, but on a fail with fear they miss the attack AND leave themselves open to a harsh counterattack, or perhaps lose their weapon. I can do all of this off the cuff in D&D because 'GM said so', but then the players can feel an adversarial relationship instead of collaborative, which is so much more encouraged in Daggerheart.
All entirely subjective, and at its core it's still heroic fantasy same as hundreds of other systems and if you are put off by rolling two dice for metacurrency, it's likely not for you.
Fair enough! I'm not going back to initiative order in any game I play for similar pacing reasons.