Interesting take. Indeed it is for certain that the reputation of a developer in the space is highly likely to be the foundational element to making money off of this technology. In addition, add some high dollar marketing and leverage partnerships with powerful old world institutions and politicians and you have the potential to make a lot of money. 

Now with that said, I have a hard time blaming them in some ways because it simply costs a great deal to maintain a blockchain. And lets face it...the opportunities are falling in front of them like hotcakes. However, I will say that if this does fail it will start really hurting projects more than helping them to see Vitalik and Gavin as advisors. People are fickle and if you are going to take take take from them you better be able to give something back eventually or they will never forget! 

Thanks for adding it to the beyond bitcoin discussion on steemit as this is fast becoming one of my primary places for information on the happenings in the crypto sphere!  :)