In 2016, yacht retailers announced they would now accept Bitcoin. Maybe this reflected crypto-bullishness by yacht sellers. More likely, it reflected the obscene amount of wealth rapidly acquired by goofy young men lacking prudence or frugality.

For six years, at least, corners of the luxury economy adapted to the swelling ranks of crypto bros. In 2021, Bentley saw record sales figures, as did Rolls Royce, all while regular carmakers saw new-car sales fall. One reason: Millennial males who had gone long on cryptocurrency found themselves with hundreds of millions of dollars — and not a lot of productive things to spend this money on.