What tally sticks teach us is that the form of money matters far less than the trust architecture behind it. People trusted tallies because they could verify them on the spot. The trust was so strong that people were open to new alternatives like paper, as the state stood behind it. Then, people even trusted digital payments as the foundations can be trusted. 

Cryptocurrencies replace the authority with technology and expect people to trust that technology, which has no proven track record. Instead of solving problems, they have added new ones around regulation, security and energy usage. Moreover, the mechanisms and concepts are too complicated, and even finance professionals struggle to understand them.

Economic struggles, surveillance and waning trust in governments worldwide have created a need to replace the current systems. However, governments cannot afford to lose control over money. They view cryptocurrencies as a threat to their own legitimacy. For staying relevant, they are increasingly pushing for central bank digital currencies, which share some crypto features, along with state backing.