On the other hand what is the alternative? The current blockchain/dlt hype is built on top of technology that severely impacts its security promise (https://btc-hijack.ethz.ch/).

The reason why gnunet appears to be "redo-everything" is because that is exactly what is necessary if you take the issues seriously and think them through.

The reason why it takes so long is also because we are a small team and the goal does not provide instant gratification while at the same time being very hard to achieve.

It is a lot of systems programming and engineering. It is a lot more fun to reinvent the wheel in the newest shiny technology.