, I think, is that long-term the ASICs did not really hurt Bitcoin. As a matter of fact, they long-term helped valuation because they drove difficulty high sooner than it would otherwise have gone, thus constraining supply.
I would guess that Richard realistically wants ETN to remain at a low valuation for the next year or more. That's because he cannot build an economy around a $1000 coin in third world countries. And nobody in first world countries is going to do that, because we already have a functioning economy.
I strongly suspect that Richard believes his best chance to get ETN adopted is through parts of the world where the existing banking and governance systems are weak and where the local economy is low-functioning and prone to inflationary pressure. So in that environment ETN needs to be:
Cheap to obtain
Easy to use
Stable in price
None of those factors work for near-term investment gains, but long term could be positives.
People need to get this clear: Richard is not trying to build lambo-coin, or moon-coin. He's trying to build a real, functional cryptocurrency and he is trying to create the conditions for its adoption and use. His goals do not correspond to your goal of lambo ownership, and that's something you need to consider.
Personally, I think everyone needs to view their ETN investments on a 2 - 3 year horizon.