I think the crypto junk is a red herring. This is just a continuation of the “marketplaces” that have existed in games for the last 20 years. There’s nothing wrong with games having collectibles and NFTs are like fine for that, whatever. I think the tech is silly but it makes no difference.
It’s the fact that these kinda of games are designed to exploit a bug in human v1. No amount of personal responsibility, bootstraps, or helplines is worth as much as just outlawing this garbage.
I think the only way forward is to make precise the language of “exploiting human psychology” and regulating on that rather than any specific thing. A world without “dark patterns,” skinner boxes, and engagement farming would be bliss.
