This is an unresolved question. A lot of people think that crypto is the next big thing, and will herald the next stage of the internet. In this vision, users, rather than huge companies, own the protocols that people rely on. Many think that crypto will decentralize the financial system and spread wealth to underserved communities. Others think that crypto is one giant scam, nothing more than a Ponzi scheme designed to trick people into investing in risky financial products that only make the snake-oil-salesman developers rich. While that debate rages on, some parts of the cryptocurrency market are undeniably, unequivocally, scams.