if my choice is between holding and transacting in ETH vs. some third-rate local currency by a semi-corrupt government

I will use dollar, gold or silver.

Except that you may not be able to because those can be banned by the government. For example, from 1933 to 1974 it was illegal for people in the US to hold gold because the government needed to raise money from its citizens. Holding gold doesn't help the government. And forget about getting your hands on US dollar.

Of course the government can ban holding crypto, but that's going to much harder to enforce since it's just bits.

Argentina has third rate currency and corrupt government. People use dollars not crypto. Same for Turkey and other countries.

You’re saying that American males in their 30s and 40s in the tech industry are generally against crypto?

I think so, yes. I believe that if you go into a typical tech company, let's say Google, and survey people above 30 about crypto, the majority will be against it, and it will be positively correlated with age, i.e. older people are more likely to be against it.

Of course I have no evidence, it's just my anecdotal experience, which doesn't count for much. I actually hope I'm wrong.

> American males in their 30s and 40s who don't understand the value proposition because they never had to deal with malicious governments, banks, or hyperinflation in their lifetime.

While not American, I can fully understand the promises (but not guarantees) of DeFi and cryptocurrencies but, I prefer to invest in popcorn futures, for now.

Because, by sheer luck I know a lot of people who worked in TradFi, and I've seen its insides and how mature it is. It's not perfect, it's not fair in some places, but it's rooted and mature. You can see the direction of it, and be prepared if you watch for the signs.

I'm investing in popcorn futures, not because I believe DeFi will fail, but watching the evangelists think that they can change a centuries old system in a decade flat.

DeFi and TradFi will merge. The end will look like TradFi, but the inner working will be a lot (but not completely) different. Believe or not, but most of the TradFi regulations are there to prevent these kinds of free falls and screw-overs.