I think it's because it is both hard to understand and hard to explain cryptocurrencies at the moment. It's like discussing email or social networks based on papers and ideas without really ever having seen it in action. We tend to get a bit aggressive or impatient when we find it hard to explain something.
Also, crypto skeptics realise that the crypto fans literally have money at stake so they are not unbiased. Maybe crypto skeptics are also a bit worried that perhaps there is something they didn't get. Perhaps they miss out on the next big thing.
"Crypto" isn't binary. There's a gold nugget in there somewhere buried under a literal mountain of (occasionally willful) disinformation, flimsy whitepapers and opportunistic ICOs that can best be described as Ponzi schemes. Spend any amount of time on bitcointalk or any of the altcoin subreddits to see what I'm talking about.
That - IMO - is what "crypto skeptics" are actually skeptical of.
Bingo. 98% of "crypto" is, basically, Pets.com (or worse) right now. Cryptocurrency is really, really useful for some things, just as the web is. On the other hand, there's an awful lot that simply doesn't make any sense - even ignoring the fact that many crypto advocates seem to have no idea how people work or what the constraints of any given problem are[0], a lot of it is technically and economically unsound.
[0] See also the "put voting on the blockchain and give everybody an identifying number to verify their vote" people who seem to have absolutely no idea why we have a secret ballot.
"The internet will never work because Pets.com is stupid" - would be a perfectly valid position to hold after the dot com bust. But those unable to separate HTTP from Pets.com are the real suckers. I guess that's why some people get rich and others sit on their hands and complain.
> "The internet will never work because Pets.com is stupid" - would be a perfectly valid position to hold after the dot com bust.
No it wouldn't
> I guess that's why some people get rich and others sit on their hands and complain.
I honestly don't know what your point is. There's a lot to criticize in the crypto space right now. There's also a lot of money to be made. Those aren't in any way mutually exclusive.
> Maybe crypto skeptics are also a bit worried that perhaps there is something they didn't get.
It's Econ 101 they don't get. It's the origin of money they don't get. With every tulip argument it becomes painfully obvious that "progressives" are economically illiterate. They talk about supply and demand they way conservatives talk about global warming being "only a theory". This Cryptophobia (let the record show I coined the term :P ) is not technologically rooted.
The only thing I want is for productive conversation to occur - but from a technical aspect. Maybe there could be a tab where people argue from an ideological perspective. But the reason I'm frustrated is that literally every crypto thread has the same comments.
Let's just all admit we're not going to convert anyone, and if you don't have constructive inputs to the technology then reconsider commenting.
Also, crypto skeptics realise that the crypto fans literally have money at stake so they are not unbiased. Maybe crypto skeptics are also a bit worried that perhaps there is something they didn't get. Perhaps they miss out on the next big thing.