Is cryptocurrency mining a waste of electricity?

Blockchain
#1

Yes, it is. The solution is to use proof of stake rather than proof of work.

However, one interesting application for proof of work is to convert excess energy production into coin rather than allow it to go to waste.

  1. Cryptocurrency you want to mine - e.g. BTC is extremely hard to mine solo, and the reward for a block is getting less.

  2. Your equipment - either you have just one gaming laptop or mining farm of ASICs.

  3. The cost of electricity in your country - if you can earn on mining more than you will pay for electricity bills.

  4. The liquidity of cryptocurrency you mine - let’s say, you can mine millions of altcoins but they may be very cheap on market or nonexchangeable to top-cryptocurrencies.

  5. Mining any form of energy in crypto including with green energy is a waste when it can be used to create products or something meaningful. Crypto creates nothing other than a digital currency ie money. Lighting up a room when people are using it or for security is more meaningful.