Let me try to de-baffle you -- it is the shitcoin-oh-god-yet-another-ICO aspect, not the monetize-aspect which is causing friction.

If Signal switched to a 'Lite' vs 'Pro' model, or other incremental features, or had more donation related nagging, I doubt it would raise the slightest bother.

Many people switched from other messaging apps on princple, much of that signalled (pun intended) by actions of the founders. This moves seems to be incompatible with many people's principles.