The difference is that cryptocurrencies never had an obvious benefit beyond subverting the existing banking sector. A more apt comparison would be to cloud computing, which likewise had its host of detractors (“It’s just somebody else’s computer!”) but which brought very obvious benefits to small developers and enterprises which couldn’t host their own hardware.

"This time it's different" is also a refrain we've heard with every new bubble. It shouldn't be surprising that some people want to take a measured, skeptical approach. Even if it means they are slightly behind the bleeding edge. Even if you have to play catch-up, it can be more efficient to let others find all the dead ends first and avoid them.