The general public outside of this space, especially consumers and gamers in particular, which would be the target market; many already view these projects as scams or shady by default and don't want to touch them.
Do you know why that is?
It's not because someone pointed out shady behavior. It's because the shady behavior occurred in the first place.
You said those taking advantage of a exploit were "the smart ones."
The actual smart ones, they knew ALL THIS would happen, which is why they didn't take the actions required to shoot themselves in the foot. Common sense...