People working on cutting edge technology are all speculators in one way or another even if they don't realize or can't quantify the opportunity cost.
The one thing I will agree with the OP about is, HN had some of the earliest posts about Bitcoin and it was generally poo pood by the audience potentially due to an inadequate analysis. The long term HN readers that missed the boat may suffer from some forms of regret which can surface as disdain or hatred.
I mean, how many assets that come across this site have 20,000,000% to 69,000,000% returns and just require you to pay attention to benefit?
Do I wish I'd invested in Bitcoin early? Sure! I'd love to be a millionaire (or billionaire). Who wouldn't?
Using that as an excuse to dismiss criticisms out of hand isn't particularly sporting, though. I feel like my criticisms of crypto (such as they are) are independent of whether I'd prefer to have been a millionaire.
