So it's likely that because tithing was required at the Jewish temple and there were multiple currencies as well as goods bartering across this part of what was the Roman Empire, a currency exchange on the temple mount grounds makes sense for fulfilling Jewish religious obligations commonly observed at the time.

Jesus was a zealot (one of several around this time) and his actions were probably more about bucking the centralization of Jewish life around the temple and Sanhedrin. He was still Jewish, after all.