The comparison of incubation periods, adoption curves etc between crypto to ML cannot take us very far. The reason is that "ML" (as a proxy for algorithmic pro

The comparison of incubation periods, adoption curves etc between crypto to ML cannot take us very far. The reason is that "ML" (as a proxy for algorithmic processing of a variety of data) is not particularly adversarial to pre-existing technologies. While this is not entirely true (there is always a hidden or explicit tension between automation and expert assessments) by-and-large this tension can be managed. The new tech gets bolted on the old. In contrast crypto sought to overthrow all pre-existing monetary and financial system technology with proposals that are naive, half-baked and ignore (or reinvent in unacknowledged manner) vital aspects. The practical implication is that crypto cannot carve a legitimate niche and keep iterating. The main outcome of a lot of wasted energy (in all senses) is to point out that indeed, digitization opens up the way to evolve the financial system. So much we knew, but now it has been drilled into the heads of large swaths of politicos, regulators, bankers etc that are completely tech illiterate.