It's shocking to me how many people don't really seem to mind so long as their victim is faceless and nameless and I think that's one of the reasons the blockchain is so compelling for this sort of scam. Ripping off an actual person is much harder than ripping off some dumbass on some computer somewhere in the world that you never have to see or hear or think about once you've secured the bag.
I don't think the arc of crypto looks much different if you subtracted the grifters. There were enough true believers in the space. I know people who have sold $1m of crypto but still HODLing 90% thinking it will go up.