Cryptocurrencies have often been depicted as worthless in the public sphere, sometimes by reputable investors or public institutions officials.
While the boom of tokens and NFTs led to numerous malicious, hype-based, or overly ambitious projects that can legitimately be compared to Ponzi schemes, the technology behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchain projects solved real-world issues with innovative technology, unbeknownst to the general public.
This article is an attempt at explaining how these projects are technological and civilisational innovations, and to discuss their limits.