But how much of the "value" of the chain "as a platform for speculation" is simply the hype around crypto? (Which is, in large part, driven by speculation-drive

But how much of the "value" of the chain "as a platform for speculation" is simply the hype around crypto? (Which is, in large part, driven by speculation-driven rising prices of cryptocurrencies.) For example, anyone could have sold the equivalent of NFTs decades ago using a centralized ledger (perhaps using multiple trusted third parties for security). That didn't happen. Likewise, it's pretty clear that if you have a startup idea that could be implemented with or without crypto, you get a valuation boost if you take the crypto route. (Hello Long Blockchain Corp.) So: speculation-driven cryptocurrency prices rise -> entire crypto sector hyped to the moon -> startups move in to collect hype-driven investment -> smart contract activity observed -> this "proof" of utility drives more hype. And of course there are other intersecting loops.