There is no latent energy. There is only potential. That energy could have been used to split water, build a city or electrified train near the hydro plant, etc

There is no latent energy. There is only potential. That energy could have been used to split water, build a city or electrified train near the hydro plant, etc, etc. Moreover, you fail to account for human nature. I'd be shocked if bribes have not already passed hands, to allow for use of electricity for bitcoin mining near hydro power in remote areas. Bitcoin as of now, is by volume a mechanism for letting privileged people in China shift their wealth (including Face) from resources in China to somewhere outside of China, with Bitcoin as a proxy. All the while ignoring externalities. All the other rosy bitcoin has potential and so on, may be true, but please, look at what it is right now and say with a straight face that it's great. What is it, 90% of hash rate in China? Edit: the bitcoin block reward is irrelevant. When more value is being parked in bitcoin, the transaction fees are going to go up to match the lost rewards. And people will pay.