This came up a few weeks ago on HN, with someone from a small country writing that they quit a crypto startup because they realized it was a scam. The startup was starting up an exchange, which doesn't really need a "coin". But they had to have one, so they could play games with the financial structure and Make Money Fast.
This is why there are very few real DeFi crypto exchanges. A trustless exchange, where the exchange never has custody of the money, is the way a crypto exchange ought to work. The exchange is then just a matching service - people put limit orders on a blockchain, the exchange finds ones that match, and tells both parties "go". Like the NYSE, which never owns a stock.
But there's no Make Money Fast in that. It's getting your hands on the customer assets that pays off.
It needs to be a coin so they can pocket $240m in an ICO, which is significantly easier than getting a large government contract because ICO investors are not sophisticated, largely don’t have rights, and insider trading is much easier.
It's a tip/gift/bonus/incentive for people to give away their data. And since this is a game of numbers, they knew that throwing $10-20-30 USD to about 400mn people in poor countries they would get the momentum going.
I expect Europeans to shun this.
I fear though that once they hit "1bn people" they will invoke the FOMO into the rest.
