Wow. That's quite a lot to take in. Greed is one of the biggest pitfalls and it can turn a growing community into a money hunt. Everyone just there struggling for spoils. I first heard about Dash in 2016. That was when I got involved with cryptocurrencies. It was one of the biggest at the time. I was a fan but stopped after I saw that a lot of big players always trying to influence the network for their own benefits. I think newer blockchains can learn a thing or two from this. Governance is everything especially for a community as this.
It is a lot to take in, and I'm sorry if I'm being uncharitable to the people who sincerely believe they are doing the right thing for Dash by doing the right thing for themselves, but I believe they are biased at best and dishonest at worst. When I say "cabal" I'm not talking about a conspiracy (at least not that I know of), but about an alignment of interest that amounts to a tragedy of the commons, a resource that is being over-exploited due to individual self-interest and pooled money.