How has bitcoin changed in its current form versus when the whitepaper was written?

I'm curious as to where BTC stands now versus what Satoshi originally envisioned? I'm new to this and don't have a ton of knowledge on the subject, so interested in more experienced people's thoughts.

To start the conversation, the original white paper referenced the removal of third parties (banks) for transactions. Now, it seems like exchanges have replaced some of the duties that banks fulfilled, and are still a necessary third party for the ecosystem. Is that a correct take? Is that part of Satoshi's initial concept? Could bitcoin exist without the exchanges?

EDIT : spelling