I agree. They are not unreasonable. They are crass. If a child is told not to touch a stove and then burns herself, I may consider them stupid, but I can still have sympathy for the pain they are experiencing.
They may be in search of outsized returns, but I think people can absolutely be victims of the ‘have fun staying poor’ meme. The implication is that if you don’t buy into crypto your assets will be decimated by inflation. I think it’s reasonable to consider that it’s not ‘greed’ but rather fear of being left behind that is driving many victims.
So your environmental criticism of Proof of Work is not applicable here. A PoW coin with no premine doesn't allow for a rug pull.
I realize the dangers of posting something remotely pro-crypto on HN, but I have to say this is a pretty rich comment. Shame is all that is doled out to the many people who have reasonable and fair opinions about cryptocurrency that you don't like (such as thinking some cryptocurrencies are reasonable or worth speculating over).
If anything, I'd say the corner is turning and the previously pro-crypto HN is just now becoming more anti-crypto.
No, they're not. They're entirely reasonable. Stop trying to shame people for expressing a common, reasonable and fair opinion that you don't like.