> It's been amusing to watch HN's overwhelmingly negative reaction to cryptocurrencies

Not all cryptocurrencies. Only the ones with "intrinsic value". Just because I print pieces of paper in my basement, doesn't mean that there is an intrinsic value in them.

> It's too bad, since there actually are some interesting technologies beginning to come out of the cryptocurrency sphere

100% agree with this. There are some interesting ideas and technologies.

> What I suspect is that many startup types have sour grapes over how they could have made nearly as much money speculating on digital tokens as they did building their web or app business

I can only speak for myself: No. No sour grapes. Since day 1 I thought Bitcoin was a pyramid/Ponzi kind of scheme. I would never have taken part in such a system.