Cathedrals were not built during "gruseome times." Europe's age of cathedrals was roughly between 1000 and 1350, a period of relative peace and prosperity. Some of the main cathedrals were already completed by the time the Plague hit Europe around 1350. After that, the pace of construction slowed considerably. A few major objects such as Rouen, Ulm and Cologne were only completed in the late 19th century. In the case of Rouen, it took 850 years from start to finish.

The cathedrals cost a great deal of money, and as far as I know not a single cathedral token went "to the moon". Sure, the artisans building cathedrals were generally well paid, but no-one became rich building cathedrals.

Yes, any social movement requires some "faith and mystique" - religion is of course perfectly suited for this, as it almost by definition deals with stuff you cannot prove. So that's what one has to be careful about: the "cult" part has to be based on something vague, like "decentralisation" or "cryptocurrencies", rather than on technology which keeps evolving.

Speaking of faith: what about greed? If you're looking for historical parallels, the California Gold Rush comes to mind more readily than the building of cathedrals...