I get the relationship between the smelters and the power industry in Iceland, but despite that industries problems (I am not a fan) at least there is some econ

I get the relationship between the smelters and the power industry in Iceland, but despite that industries problems (I am not a fan) at least there is some economic activity going on there. With mining, essentially we are building damns and steam generators to fuel heat dispensation for the benefit of helping some speculators win bets against other speculators. This is not economic activity imo, but some fancy techno-casino. I feel I am very justified in calling it idiotic. And lets not ignore the externalities here. Just as miners can server as price competition to the smelters, they also out-price other potential activities. Not just as buyers of electricity, but also as investment for those that are running the datacenters. As long as the mining option is on the table, these operators and investors have no incentive to find other uses for their computer farms. Just buy some ASICs and be done with it.