There are many differences between bitcoin and crypto. I'm not making a list here but I do want to share a few thoughts I've had today. Crypto is a "safer" more watered down alternative to bitcoin. I can hear you all yelling at me now. Just wait. This is what I am saying others think. Not bitcoiners.
As I have stated before, if you understand libertarian/anarchist view points as well as Austrian economics you cannot deny that bitcoin was designed by a person or people with these values. I would go as far as to say bitcoin is a representation of these values in code. This is important to recognize if you want to understand why so many people are drawn away from bitcoin toward the inferior and poorly designed copies of bitcoin (crypto).
Most humans have a very strong desire to fit in with their peers. This makes sense when you realize our history. In the past being an outcast could cost you your life. It still can today. If you want to understand why people do the things they do you have to think about the human mind. A resource that is helpful to understanding mind and the different types of minds that tend to be progressive, conservative, and libertarian in their thinking is the book "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt. In most cultures you find people that are curious and will try things, those that are slow to try new things, and those that seem to be "free" thinkers. I will add that Haidt points out that you need all of these people for a successful company, community, or nation. Great book.
Bitcoin is a radical shift from the status quo. When I have explained bitcoin to Conservatives and progressives they often recoil from it when they think through the consequences. Bitcoin is dangerous. No one is in charge! It uses so much energy! It is used for illegal activities. It isn't controlled by the US government. Bitcoin is crazy and scary. If you were into bitcoin early on you are most likely a free thinker. If you got it pretty quick and have tons of conviction there's a pretty good chance you're in the libertarian / anarcho side of philosophy. If not, you are probably very unencumbered by the crowd. We are not normal. You probably know this and I don't mean it as an insult. I'm right there with you.
The Second Handers
Another helpful example comes from "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. She uses this term "second-handers".
“That, precisely, is the deadliness of second-handers. They have no concern for facts, ideas, work. They're concerned only with people. They don't ask: 'Is this true?' They ask: 'Is this what others think is true?' Not to judge, but to repeat. Not to do, but to give the impression of doing. Not creation, but show. Not ability, but friendship. Not merit, but pull. What would happen to the world without those who do, think, work, produce? Those are the egotists. You don't think through another's brain and you don't work through another's hands. When you suspend your faculty of independent judgment, you suspend consciousness. To stop consciousness is to stop life.”
~ Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
I've come to believe a large number of people in society are second-handers. They will never use bitcoin until their leaders/peers do. No amount of facts, logic, or reason will convince them. Their brains do not work this way. I don't think this is a boolean though. Some have this trait more than others.
The Trend Makers
These are the people that the second-handers follow. They are usually open to bitcoin but have "concerns" about its energy use or some other virtue signal to give them an out. It is risky to go all in on something as truly radical as bitcoin and these people usually have a lot to lose. These people are drawn to crypto because it doesn't have all the crazy things bitcoin has like proof of work or radical decentralization. Proof of stake is easier to sell to normies. It doesn't pollute the environment. There are companies behind crypto. There are spokesmen that say the right things. "We welcome regulation". "We need more regulatory clarity". Crypto is bitcoin with the edges smoothed off. In truth crypto is a castrated corpse being shilled to the masses as superior tech because it isn't decentralized and can be more controlled and manipulated by the elites.
Crypto is moderate bitcoin. Its less crazy. Bitcoin is extremist and radical. This is why we so often see calls to dilute the message because it is turning people off. Folks, do not dilute the message. Don't waste your time trying to orange pill second-handers. Focus on those with open minds. The second-handers will follow when they feel safe. Speak the truth as you understand it. There is not second best. There is only bitcoin.