Simple reason: opportunity cost.

From an economic standpoint, this can be simply summarized as “opportunity cost”, i.e. we do not pick the fruit from the top of the tree first. Everyone has an economic incentive to pick the lowest hanging fruit.

@smooth, just stating the obvious which you already know … my guess is everyone is too busy making money in other ways that have higher economies-of-scale or are easier. The “problem” for those in the crypto industry is they are making too much money without needing to produce the best software. Many of those who invested in crypto early such as yourself, no longer need to work as programmers. For most that happened by mid-2017, yet I remember even in 2015 your opportunity cost was already very high. Those who continue to do so must have some other form of motivation.

_{Luckily I was too ill (thus depleted of capital) to make a lot of money investing in the first wave of crypto, so I am still hungry. Plus I have multiple “other forms of motivation” as well. Gut tuberculosis was the best thing that has ever happened in my life!}