Ok, so searching for reliable info on this is (predictably) difficult because you get 80 pages of crypto shill websites. But i found this old article and the critique it lays out seems kinda damning.

That said, it doesn't mention in the critique whether they propose any other alternative. And we do seem to need one, right? Some of the stuff that people buy with whatever bullshitcoin on the darkweb, is actually very necessary and/or policed for bad reasons. Like meds unobtainable in the garbage U.S. medical system.

It seems to me like every other day, we're hearing that the major payment processors are banning some platform, or forcing some other platform to stop allowing adult content, etc etc. So ultimately I'm coming down on the side of "Monero is just more scammy nonsense", but it also kinda seems like the only option I'm aware of...

crypto claims

Well, that depends on what claims you're interested in.

Monero solves the problem of replacing cash while preserving all of the anonymity of cash. Transactions are reasonably fast, fees are low, etc.

Bitcoin is a terrible currency IMO, and isn't much better as a store of value because:

• transaction fees are high - due to finite block size and frequency
• it's a huge target for speculation as the largest cryptocurrency
• transactions are slow (see first bullet point)

The problem Bitcoin is trying to solve is transparency of transactions, putting huge emphasis on the public ledger. That's always going to be at odds with a currency, where most people don't want their transactions tracked.