Yes I think in a lot of way it's a failure, most Bitcoin maxis are in denial.
i just a saw tweet from a maxi telling people to use custodial lightning wallet - this is centralization. this is what we're trying to avoid. Goes against everything Satoshi envisioned
I'd argue a Bitcoin maximalist knows Bitcoin can't scale on-chain, and also knows it's okay to risk small amounts in a custodial wallet.
I stopped running a lightning node because it's not real user friendly
Custodial LN is a lot more user friendly, and I don't mind paying a few cents in fees for that.
IMO it's the only one that has a real chance to flip BTC.
Good tech isn't enough to become market leader. Monero will have to go up 550-fold to top Bitcoin.