I've worked in the crypto space for several years as a software developer and I can confirm that this is true. Most projects have no interest in developing the technology. Some communities will actively go out of their way to suppress innovation. There is a lot of 'busy work' going on with many projects going in circles.
Like for example, you work for a company which claims to be working towards certain goals, then when you make some significant progress towards one of the main technical goals as an employee; instead of the project founders being pleased and giving you a bonus and rolling out the new tech to the community, they cancel everything, fire you from your job (or put you in a situation where you are forced to quit) and then they turn the entire community and their social network against you to ensure that you don't succeed outside the company... All against the stated goals of the company/project. True story BTW.
