Yeah, I'm also not a whole-heart fan of everything cryptocurrencies, it has plenty of problems. But I have the same perspective as you, both bases have very intense knee-jerk reactions to anything happening.
I think it has to do with how new the field is. People reacted to the internet in the same way when it was new. No, I'm not saying cryptocurrencies are as useful as the internet is. But when the internet first appeared, people who didn't like the internet, grouped everything on the internet together. I was called porn-addicted because someone had heard there was porn on the internet and that I worked with the internet, so obviously I must be doing something related to porn.
Similarly people hear "cryptocurrency" and they immediately think of scams, although there is currencies that obviously aren't scams (Bitcoin, for one). But they've seen a scam using Bitcoin, so everything related to Bitcoin must be a scam too.
I have nothing to gain/lose by cryptocurrencies going up/down, so I don't really care. But it makes me slightly scared to see how for example many HN users react to cryptocurrencies, when this audience usually seems pretty calm and collected to me.
Makes me wonder what other subjects gets treated the same way as cryptocurrencies, but I don't realize it yet.
I think it has to do with how new the field is. People reacted to the internet in the same way when it was new. No, I'm not saying cryptocurrencies are as useful as the internet is. But when the internet first appeared, people who didn't like the internet, grouped everything on the internet together. I was called porn-addicted because someone had heard there was porn on the internet and that I worked with the internet, so obviously I must be doing something related to porn.
Similarly people hear "cryptocurrency" and they immediately think of scams, although there is currencies that obviously aren't scams (Bitcoin, for one). But they've seen a scam using Bitcoin, so everything related to Bitcoin must be a scam too.
I have nothing to gain/lose by cryptocurrencies going up/down, so I don't really care. But it makes me slightly scared to see how for example many HN users react to cryptocurrencies, when this audience usually seems pretty calm and collected to me.
Makes me wonder what other subjects gets treated the same way as cryptocurrencies, but I don't realize it yet.