[RandomBacon]

> are there any blockchains that HN (generally speaking) has a positive opinion of?

Other than Bitcoin, three other coins that are sometimes talked about here are Ethereum, Monero, Zcash.

Ethereum was the first ICO. Many other tokens operate on its blockchain.

Monero is an open source project with lots of development and progress (third behind Bitcoin and Ethereum). Its transactions are private.

Zcash is open source but mainly developed by a for-profit company and uses interesting mathematics. Its transactions are public, with the option of being private.

Disclaimer: I'm only "invested" in one of the three coins I mentioned.