One of the things I learned in Anthropology class is that before barter existed (as the first trading system), there was already the scam...
Cryptos were sold as the future, as a way to become a millionaire in a simple way, as the new currency that would change all economies... If you know history you will remember hearing about the Gold Rush, how many people went out to look for gold and a great majority went out to look for those who found gold...
Maybe you are not too steeped in the Hispanic community, but WillyRex's NFTs (A popular Youtuber) and the hundreds of stoner monkey campaigns that now have more than 50 Streamers on Youtube on lawsuits, are topics you might want to investigate, as well as how hundreds of Streamers from Argentina lost money being scammed by Axie, or games even promoted here on Hive as the future where Assets from other games were used while claiming to be original (CryptoShots cough).
Wait what? What are the details on crypto shots?
I do agree with everything else you say, though and part of it is the reason I prefer my anonymity around the space, not that I plan on doing something sinister but for my own protection. Then again there's a lot more public faces doing way bigger scams these days. I hope the laws will put a precedent on those who scam with the intention of never having planned to actually try something real.