They should be free to create products that foster the community they believe will give them the best returns in the long run. Clearly they don't think that is crypto, they probably think it is either a fad, or that it will move to proof of stake, and that the demand will subside. So if they leave their core community high and dry during that time they could lose favor. I don't know if that's right or wrong, they clearly have way more insight than I, but either way I support their right to make the decision. They aren't the only company in the world, others should step up if they see a frothy market.

ML is a bit different in that the applications are probably here to stay, and the applications are "legit". But, the ML market will not have the same brand loyalty that the consumer gaming market will. Consumers like brands and they stick with them. Companies spending money on ML are going to flock to the cheapest TCO, and a lot of this will also be abstracted through cloud offerings.

In short, they don't want to piss off what they believe to be their cash cow for years to come.

I see it the other way around.

Some gamers are switching to AMD now that Nvidia cards are sold everywhere.

Meanwhile, companies are tied to CUDA, and AMD still doesn't have a similar API offering. There's some progress, but they're not there yet.

Yes, Nvidia would like that as well. I expect them to further cripple more non-gaming applications on the Geforce line going forward.