Bitcoin has no treasury, no foundation, no built-in developer funding model. Fiat filled the gap and the incentive structure followed.

When independent contributors disappear, we call it "burnout;" but what if that were a convenient label for a structural outcome?

This article from the "Fiat Incentives Everywhere" series doesn't retell what @hodlonaut already covered in "The Capture" (which I recommend reading), it examines the incentive structure underneath it.

Full analysis and sources: https://daniella.io/bitcoin-development