As an outsider, the only thing I can take from this is a certain sad feeling that it's a demonstration of a pure wild west unregulated and uncontrolled economy

As an outsider, the only thing I can take from this is a certain sad feeling that it's a demonstration of a pure wild west unregulated and uncontrolled economy devolving into utter tyranny. You've got your oligarchs, your civil war, your rent seeking, and maybe you'll end up in a year or two with an outright winner. At which point that winner might as well cancel bitcoin, declare themself king and issue a central coinage. Well, that and "Bitcoin has become garbage, avoid at all costs".