We are at 2 TX/sec because, well, people simply don't transact more than that. Bitcoin CAN support a much higher transaction rate with ZERO increase in mining

We are at 2 TX/sec because, well, people simply don't transact more than that. Bitcoin CAN support a much higher transaction rate with ZERO increase in mining resources. All we need is (1) more transactions and (2) a block size increase. Let it be clear: the only "dumb" thing is not the system itself, but Bitcoin developers who have not yet agreed on increasing the block size. Secondly, seeing the mining resources as spent only validating transactions is failing to see the whole picture. Miners sustain a system that is already a net benefit to the economy. Venture capitalists invested more than $1 billion into at least 729 Bitcoin companies which created thousands of jobs. Is all this worth the 150+ megawatt of (practically all) clean energy used by miners? Hell yes! This argument (and others) is explained in detail in: http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=82 http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=82