One issue I have is that part of the community views capes as a status symbol and targets accounts with them. Like I occasionally get spam emails about my capes. The account API should've been locked down ages ago so sites like namemc could never exist, but that's probably an unpopular opinion.

I've been playing since early 2010 and have always viewed capes as a reward for some achievement. The Bedrock events and Java Realms are a good example of this: you need to work towards obtaining them. Due to this view, I also think they shouldn't be paid. Your time should be the payment.