The problem is that federated protocols and platforms don't really evolve that w...

The problem is that federated protocols and platforms don't really evolve that well with a few exceptions. We had XMPP and it died. Then WhatsApp and Telegram showed us what truly modern messengers could be. When you can't make a change at the client level you won't be able to advance.

So, even if you believe Matrix is the future and Signal/WhatsApp/Telegram have a drastic flaw, we couldn't get here without them.