I love this nuanced and balanced view of this issue! For someone who doesn't know much about crypto, your perspective is so helpful. Reading this post, it occurs to me that Whitney Webb often positions herself to be some sort of conspiracy fortune teller. Even though she unearths historical contexts, many of her interpretations of this information imply some sort of grim future of total elite control. I agree with you that her perspective (by itself) totally ignores real and empowering alternatives.