C++ iirc is used mostly for microprocessor code

lol no, it’s used almost everywhere where performance is important and people want(ed) OOP, from tiny projects to web browsers (Chrome, Firefox) to game engines (Unreal, CryEngine). Many of these are hugely complex and do encounter segfaults on a somewhat frequent basis.

Saying C++ is mostly used for embedded applications is like saying C# is mostly used for scripting games, i.e. it doesn’t nearly cover all the use cases.

higher-level languages also exist

This depends on your definition of “higher-level”, but many people would argue that C++ is on a similar level to Java or C# in terms of abstraction. The latter two do, however, have a garbage collector, which vastly simplifies memory management for the programmer(generally anyway).

is sort of essentially blockchain without the decentralized ledger part

So a [Merkle tree](http://www…com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle_tree)?

Ollivander, my norwegian loaf