

Legitimate reason? Really?
That was the one thing that removed my ability to even try to suspend any disbelief in the fantasy. Like I couldn’t even think of him as more than a one-dimensional caricature, let alone empathize with him. I was okay with Thanos just being some powerful guy seeking powerful objects to become more powerful. I might even sympathize, not empathize, with that. It was evil to be sure, but understandable. But, as soon as they revealed what he actually wanted to do with that power the whole thing just fell apart completely and became a total farce.
It was just bad logic that doesn’t hold up to any scrutiny. Like why didn’t he just double the resources? Why did he think the universe wouldn’t just eventually return to pre-snap populations, because it’s not like he also slowed population growth?
Value was making value as you put it, long before rapid trading. Speculation and arbitrage are like the first two things that develop in any economy. Any entrepreneurial grade school child trading candy, baseball cards, pogs, hotwheels, or whatever the hot new thing is has probably seen both first hand.