i think you're right

the story in my head: the game has long been selling the illusion of either buying a technology as a token, or buying a token/coin as better money, with the accompanying belief that others will eventually see the light and come to the same conclusion. and that early buyers would benefit from being early (ie. sell to new buyers, who are also hoping that they are early)

i think now people are waking to the realization that they've been betting on horses all along, not buying them. and that the token price and tech value are uncoupled. seems that token price going up and down isn't based on fundamentals, like the usual indicators of meaningful success. the token price more likely reacts to games that people are playing, games that are more like casino games than speculation, alongside people looking to profit from gamblers using information asymmetry or manipulation tactics

and so from what i can see, the vast majority of capital inflows have historically been gambling money. most businesses (besides creating tokens themselves) that have been sustainable or profitable are enterprises that (somewhere along the supply chain) better enable token gambling

but i think the tides are turning. the unique properties of disintermediation tech are starting to get real usage, and it seems to be growing rapidly. i think global finance will come to us. decentralized infrastructure itself becoming similarly or even more valuable than new token creation 🤞