High electricity costs needed to rewrite the blockchain is a feature of proof-of-work, not a bug. We could all switch to proof-of-stake, but then anyone would

High electricity costs needed to rewrite the blockchain is a feature of proof-of-work, not a bug. We could all switch to proof-of-stake, but then anyone would be able to create a valid-looking blockchain in a few minutes, and the only way to get the right chain would be to connect to nodes you know or trust, at which point a blockchain becomes meaningless in the first place. The challenge is about coming to agreement. Reaching agreement on information which determines how much money people own is hard. Proof-of-work reaches consensus by having a vote -- on which transaction history is correct -- constitute something that cannot be forged: energy.