Some of us have an understanding of physics and have asked the question, if cryptocurrencies are a store of "value" what is the value that they are storing? If you break it down to its most basic unit of measurement the very concept of Proof of Work is that the "value" is entropy in for form of spent compute. That is all it is. The concept of "wastes energy" doesn't begin to cover it, the value is literally the sunk cost of the net energy used to "mint" a coin. Let me ask you a question, what is the value of used energy? There is none, entropy flows in one direction energy once spent, has no value. I can't get energy back from the spent compute, that power used is not producing anything useful other than a hash value on a ledger. Many of us are then anti-crypto because we're simply stating, The Emperor is wearing no clothes or The value of entropy is nothing. The entire thing is a purely speculative market on the cost of entropy, but entropy has no value.
The question of physics is entirely relevant and infrequently discussed. I think your line of questioning leads to some very interesting problem sets that bitcoin in particular was built to address.
bitcoin is by design inefficient, and it could have been efficient by design. the inefficiency model implies the need for large compute resources, which is a form of industrial, technological, and infrastructural prowess and capacity. See smaller and more power-insecure nations banning crypto-mining. Bitcoin only makes sense from an electricity standpoint when you have excess electricity that you would otherwise have no way of using. Hydropower, solar, and virtually all power plants have some excess capacity that they could theoretically convert directly to mining operations, for as long as they had no consumer power demands. The theory behind bitcoins numbers/algos is that the power plant shouldn't have to make a choice between serving customers and running crypto operations, they make the most possible serving customers, and burning excess supply.
Market conditions have temporarily distorted bitcoin mining distribution, but with fewer coins left to mine and a growing understanding of bitcoins algorithmically enforced economics, you will see it banned from everywhere that it does "waste energy", and lots of miners will realize that "stateless" currency depends entirely on industrial surcapacity which is entirely dictated and governed by the state. So a nation's governance structures and ability to adapt to a developing world turn out to be just as critical as the country's ability to supply massive energy demand. The places that are able to do this are typically worth spending money in so it makes sense as a unit of "value".
bitcoin was an attempt to replace gold mining and gold transfers, but it was also an effort to represent something about the miner who mined it. A bitcoin miner had to have lots of cheap energy and the technological capability to run distributed compute efficiently. bitcoin has been narrowing in on global energy surcapacity, and it turns out there isn't any. This will have all kinds of effects on the price of bitcoin, as lots of inefficient players and players in insufficiently developed economies are forced out of the mining pool.
however in places where bitcoin is mined efficiently, one could theoretically use those same bitcoins to purchase either cheap (or even green) electricity, efficient (cool) compute, or whatever else goes along with running massive mining facilities.
> bitcoin was an attempt to replace gold mining and gold transfers
Imagine replacing a valuable material asset with nothing. I get that bitcoin was designed as a hedge against market volatility. But instead of soaring when the traditional market sours it has become a leading indicator of volatility. If you look at the crash of 2020 and the one happening now buttcoin variants preformed poorly almost a month before the market did meanwhile gold is doing what its supposed to.
> however in places where bitcoin is mined efficiently, one could theoretically use those same bitcoins to purchase either cheap (or even green) electricity, efficient (cool) compute, or whatever else goes along with running massive mining facilities
This is stupid, who would burn energy to buy energy? Bitcoin proponents who believe these lies probably also believe in overunity, free energy and perpetual motion.
I love this question, the answer is obviously no. The value of the US dollar is determined by the credit of the issuer, its rate of exchange in conjunction with the value of labor. Just like all fiat. Yes, if any of these fluctuate the "value" of the dollar goes up or down but it still has a value that isn't just the paper its printed on.
