After spending many years as a financial advisor, I find the ravings of many "experts" today as banal. There are those that speak of coins as a "Ponzi" scheme and denounce the validity of the new form of economy. There are also some that want this world to go back to the 50s, and with it all the junk that we have been working to rid ourselves of.
Looking at the new order, I can see many similarities to the monetary base that we are used to. Our economic base is not tied to any metals or valuables, but believed to be of value and tradeable as though it were tangible treasure. We have not backed our currency for many years (since 1971) but our currency has been the standard of the world.
Why then are these "old-timers" so afraid of crypto? Because they are afraid of change. The same reason that we still have racism in this country and others, the same reason that we still have wars. The world has changed, and not everyone is comfortable with that. But to not change with it is socialogical death.
Yes, it is prone to swings in value. Anything that has potential is. But we need to have a universally accepted basis so that sane commerce can prevail. It is the future, and there will always be something that is new. But by understanding it and working within it, one can determine whether it is something to stick with or ignore. I choose to stick.
Could you please be more specific about whom you refer to as "old-timers"? Somehow, I'm inclined to believe that you mean Warren Buffett since he perfectly fits the category of an "old-timer" by any metric I can think of. But he explained his stance pretty explicitly and it hardly has anything to do with fear of change or anything of that nature. You can discard his words and opinion as inconsequential, of course, but personally, I wouldn't. In essence, his point comes down to claiming that Bitcoin has no value. Indeed, fiat has no value either but it is used in commerce unlike crypto. And until this changes, his words will continue to hold.