Are we watching crypto's awkward and slightly embarrassing teenage years?

I remember back in 2013 when Bitcoin was inching towards 1k, and we were all going out of our minds talking about mass adoption and how we were on the cusp of a new era. It felt like we were watching a social movement in action - the fall of the corrupt banking system and the rise of people power.

Oh how naive we were...

Now in 2021 we are almost there, and it turns out mass adoption is ugly as hell.

Scam coins are everywhere, everyone and their dog is pumping money into hastily launched memecoins and people that can barely use a computer are fomoing into NFTs.

I'm hoping that we're essentially just watching crypto's teenage years - an awkward self awakening, complete with acne and poor decisions - and eventually we'll come out the other side.

But it does all feel a bit cringey at the moment.