I've actually been reflecting about why there is still any independent Nostr development, at all. There's no financial incentive to be independent, and the independent devs are just totally weirded out at the bizarre amounts of money being thrown at the bankrolled ones. Hey, free money, throw some at us, too!

It took me a while to realize that the money is primarily meant to be a signal of your preeminence, not to cover costs. Then it makes sense, again. It's like a quality seal, except that the consumer doesn't pay anything for any of the products, regardless of seal. He's just nudged to take the one with the seal. It's a PoW seal. Not a proof of the developer's work, but a PoW of the person funding the developer. Like a recommendation.