It's clear that Ethereum isn't a scam - Vtalik's contributions to the blockchain space are impossible to argue against. Not only did he build one of the most influential projects in the whole space, he's clarified his thinking and made it accessible to others via the great work on his blog.

You raise great points re: the fact that, whether or not Ethereum remains one of the top blockchains, it's a legitimate and important project. I think the situation right now is more of a temporary problem: Ethereum-based ICOs are just out of control.

The main example of this is the Bancor ICO, which is just horrifying. $140 million for a poorly defined project, it's the definition of hype and bubbling and all that. People are jumping onto a bandwagon. This project, and many smaller ones besides, are artificially inflating Ethereum through no real fault of its own.

Vtalik seems to be learning - he's stated on Twitter that he will be much more careful about who he lets use his name for projects. In the past, whenever he met with a blockchain founder, he'd end up on a nominal "advisory board." I've seen Nick Szabo the victim of other such instances - he publicly admonished a project the other day via Twitter when they added his name to their site unasked.

What I'm trying to say is, the future is bright for Ethereum compared to the $12 price you bought in at - but right now, at $250 or whatever, it's probably still due for a correction downwards, at least in my eyes. The bubble hasn't really popped quite yet.