> Also remember it turns your data model into (...)

I don't this is true at all. A CRDT is not your data model. It is the data structure you use to track and update state. Your data model is a realization of the CRDT at a specific point in time. This means a CRDT instance is owned by a repository/service dedicated to syncing your state, and whenever you want to access anything you query that repository/service to output your data model.

Sometimes problems are hard. Sometimes you create your own problems.

A CRDT requires its own data model that becomes, in a sense, the "main" data model. Because its design and constraints effectively become the design and constraints and requirements on the downstream data snapshot.

CRDT's generally require you to track a lot more stuff in your snapshot model than you would otherwise, in order to create messages that contain enough information to be applied and resolved.

E.g. what was previously an ordered list of items without ID's may now need to become a chain of items each with their own ID, so you can record an insert between two other items rather then just update the list object directly.

So yes, the CRDT is effectively your data model.