I know some friends who made good money from NFTs and some crypto pumps but most have either stayed flat or lost money.
So, I'm in the same place as you, I'll put my money on less "cool" investments and continue to watch the space.
I think you figured out exactly who is profiting from it.
So much of crypto is about being early to the bull run, finding the few coins that are going to outpace everything else, and just putting a few thousand into each.
Once the first big pump happens there are maybe a few other 5-10x opportunities, but certainly 2 years in everything is dried up. Exit pumps have already started and most major CT personalities are selling, regardless of what they’re saying publicly.
The good news is that you’ll have another opportunity in another 2-3 years.
This is what I did 2-4 years ago... then it started going down by a lot so I cashed out. I actually did lose. Not THAT much, thankfully.
But on average the market takes very roughly 7 years (probably more) to double your money. So you are talking about a ~10 year time frame.
Because if it can, then crypto market cap is 5-10x undervalued.
2 weeks ago I left all but one discord, unfollowed all Web3 specific accounts on Twitter and stopped looking at Binance etc.
My life has improved considerably. I’m sure someone is getting rich in there but I can’t work out who or how amongst the hype, pumps, grifters, scams and outright criminals.
I’m ok missing the boat if it turns out to be any more than a raft. My sanity and concentration is worth far more than whatever rubbish they are all peddling.