Great article. Yes, it does feel like we are in the "Trough of Disillusionment". Now, or whenever the bottom of the trough is, is actually the best time to invest. But human psychology is to stay away and only invest when the market is hot.
I guess what adds to the issue is price manipulation. There's an investigation happening by the government right now about how much the markets have been manipulated. And there is a paper out claiming that the bulk of bitcoin gains last year came from tether manipulating the market to prevent lows for bitcoin. If that winds up being very true, the market may have a more serious problem.
But even with that, I can't imagine that the institutional interest in crypto, and the mass exodus of talent from wall street, won't lead to some major investment once the dust settles.