Hope it will turn around eventually and we’ll screw them.

Otherwise, unpopular opinion but we can always hard fork into a more cypherpunk version of Bitcoin that we find more useful. It’s inevitable due to the looking 2106 signature bug, might as well add privacy and some OP codes that builders find useful.

Assuming that the current version of Bitcoin ossifies due to lack of consensus to do anything, of course.

Also, on the topic of who benefited from your work: I am proud of you that you didn’t contribute to MIT’s CBDC pilot (project Hamilton or whatever). Other guys had no issue participating, probably thought it’s an inevitable outcome so they might as well play the game and make an extra buck.