A Ponzi scheme can provide necessary initial energy though. Many social networks for example gained initial energy by being something entirely different before

A Ponzi scheme can provide necessary initial energy though. Many social networks for example gained initial energy by being something entirely different before pivoting. With cryptocurrencies this is driven by excess trust for the leaders in the space and for each coin. Probably driven a lot by "technology eating the world" and "young genius" mythologies. Anything that is grown organically rather than designed top down (like USD) needs some sort of bootstrapped energy source to amass energy/capital for maneuvers. The USD uses proof of military power to arbitrarily generate capital but many altcoins only stake the reputation of their creators which many people would willingly give up for millions. So while ponzi schemes definitely have their downsides due to lack of sufficient proof of stake, the structure is very similar to many organic methods of amassing energy. Startup funding is similar though safer because there is supposed vetting by smart people (angels/VCs) So I actually think that ponzi structures are rather important as an organic energy source. However they need to be vetted by asking questions look like "what are you going to do with this energy?" and "what is your proof if stake?" What strikes be about altcoins is that it's unclear how the energy will be used. It reminds me of throwing money at the TSA for ridiculous theater because too many people think throwing money at problems solves them. (an extension of military minded brute force IMO) Once the technical fundamentals start becoming solid I'd place a bet on the coin that has the strongest marketing as the increased mind share would directly increase the stability and trust in the coin. Btc/eth may be sacrificial lanbs like pets.com as this new space is explored. (or may be Amazon/Google, who knows. )