Gold is valued way over and above its direct economic value for making things! It’s valued primarily for being a store of value (as bitcoin is—hard to fake, divisible, transportable etc). Some people use bitcoin mining rigs to heat their home. I think that’s pretty equivalent to using gold in electronics (i.e. useful economic work, but not the primary source of value).
I don’t think any of the fundamental toxicity you mention regarding PoS or Ethereum is unique to crypto—it applies to most forms of capital (stocks, bonds, private equity, real estate).
Gold is valued way over and above its direct economic value for making things! It’s valued primarily for being a store of value (as bitcoin is—hard to fake, divisible, transportable etc). Some people use bitcoin mining rigs to heat their home. I think that’s pretty equivalent to using gold in electronics (i.e. useful economic work, but not the primary source of value).
I don’t think any of the fundamental toxicity you mention regarding PoS or Ethereum is unique to crypto—it applies to most forms of capital (stocks, bonds, private equity, real estate).