As far as the sponsorship. I think that is largely due to the general advantage scams have: Real systems have limits and honest people will be willing to admit to them. A scam can promise the moon because they're not beholden to the truth or reality.

Parties who aren't thoughtful will flock to the scams that promise them all they want to hear: "Our blockchain is green, organic, whole food, and promotes equality for disenfranchised African dwarfs at unlimited scale!" --- "Sounds great, you rank 10/10 according to our metrics, here's a grant!"