This does not sound surprising anymore. These days project developers don’t do research anymore to bring new innovation again, rather they’d make use of the existing ones and then modify to a better taste that will attract customers and investors to them.
Well, I don't think that's entirely true. There are still new projects that bring innovations to the cryptosphere and modern technologies in general. There are still great ideas that people are working on right now that could change things for the better. One example would be peer-to-peer currency exchange that use decentralized blockchain tech. I am sure there will be a lot more of those as the technology grows.
But many developers choose to take the easier route. The easier route is to make profit in ICOs and get rich quick. The only downside of that is there are almost no interest for innovation. There is little incentive for individuals to take risks and push the boundaries. A lot of new ideas will die because there are no investors ready to support them. If they do get funding, there will still be no interest for innovation and a lot of what is created will fall into the boring category of daily crypto-trading.
The truth is that most of these projects are all scams. A true project will go extra mile to bring something innovative and exceptional from the existing one. They know the worth of the project and so they won’t joke with that that will tarnish the image of the project.
Sure, there are a lot of scam projects out there. But not all of them are. There are projects that actually have a solid chance of succeeding, they have potential to change the world, and people are backing them with large sums of money.