Most of the Ether developers are geeks who haven't had a shower in a week and don't need much other than their fierce and loyal commitment.

The difference with projects is that projects need fiat in order to sustain themselves as a business, where keeping all their reserves in Ether has been the biggest mistake of their life. They have jeopardized the future of their existence by not having at least 50% of their assets directly converted to fiat.

Ethereum is close to a 50% loss in value in one single month now, and from its all time high its even 80%. Do you think serious projects will ever burn themselves another time with more regulations being enforced and Ether's value loss in mind? Ether will never be able to replicate its 2017 explosion again.