Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

This is garbage, and shouldn't be part of Signal.

Everything on the internet is being corrupted with adding cryptocurrency scams where they absolutely don't belong, it turns Signal from an obvious recommendation into something that makes me hesitate. There's something to be said for focusing on doing one thing well, and that doesn't mean turning a communication platform into a kitchen sink.

With all due respect your comment seems to be coming from an extremely privileged position. In many parts of the world, people do not have the luxury of basic banking, where storing and sending money is fraught with risk due to corruption and a lack of infrastructure. Take a look at M-PESA [1] for a "last-gen" solution using SMS.

I think what Signal is doing with MOB is pretty important work for many non-western countries, and I wish them all the best.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa