What are some examples of this extreme and blatantly obvious manipulation? Certainly it happens but you're making it sound like we live in the Truman Show.
And what utility are they extracting, exactly? It's incorrect to assume that a willingness to pay is always indicative of durable underlying value. See every bubble ever, for example.
The real problem in the world of crypto is that it's gone through many boom and bust cycles without real innovation to match. The future of what crypto could deliver is as speculative now as it was five years ago.
I created Lines to bring the magic of "listener call-ins" that have been a staple in radio and TV for years to the digital world. I've seen more and more shows incorporating this, but the process is messy (usually involves recording voice memos on your phone and emailing them somewhere, sometimes becoming unmanageable).
With Lines, hosts get a branded landing page that includes a web-based voicemail recorder, plus a unique toll-free number for premium subscribers. All VMs appear on the hosts dashboard for easy management. Messages are transcribed to make them skimmable.
There's a bunch of other stuff.. all with the aim of helping small teams capture the power of this tried and true content channel. If you would like to try it out (or know someone who would like to try it) I'm happy to comp paid plans in return for candid feedback. Just shoot me a message. Thanks for reading!