Exchanges have taken a dominant position in the industry, but they basically don't truly guide the sector (compliance required by governments mostly focuses on anti-money laundering, KYC, and similar aspects). Although there are many issues with traditional capital markets when it comes to listings, at least it's not like exchanges where a few teams or even just a few individuals decide whether something can be listed. There's no transparent mechanism, no external punishment or oversight system, and no checks and balances on power. Right now, all we see are memes, but none of the innovation from previous cycles. In earlier cycles, even if some ideas were later disproven, at least there was an attempt. Now, there's no need for proof—everyone just assumes it's all about listing tokens and cashing out.