In fairness, nothing stops cryptocurrencies from cooking the books either. A public blockchain is only as trustworthy as the code it runs, and with L2 chains an

In fairness, nothing stops cryptocurrencies from cooking the books either. A public blockchain is only as trustworthy as the code it runs, and with L2 chains and inter-chain bridges it's a goddamn mess. You're correct that due diligence can be easier with cryptocurrency, but you'd be remiss not to mention the lack of standardization, legislation or regulation. If you get played, you have no safety net. The stock market is comparatively stable because the dialectics of "scammer" and "businessperson" are more clearly defined. By filing with the SEC you are using your credibility as collateral with a central authority; even if we both agree that government mediation is a bad idea, it's been the standard since the ancient times and will probably continue to be valuable for as long as we have sovereign states and people that live in them.