Its true that most people are risk averse and therefore true increase in crypto adoption may first come from institutions and later if crypto becomes a norm, then mass retail adoption will happen.

Risk tolerance also happens when one is playing with significant saving in an asset class. I think placing a small amount of disposable income can bring in a lot of risk averse people into the game. Large volatility on a small capital will not worry most people. Return potential is still substatial. There are more gamblers than risk taking individuals in my opinion.