> and everyone ignoring that the block reward halves every few years until it drops to zero It's not the reward that drops to zero, but only the block subsidy.

> and everyone ignoring that the block reward halves every few years until it drops to zero It's not the reward that drops to zero, but only the block subsidy. Thus the reward will largely (eventually entirely) consist of transaction fees. Which means your first observation > The energy usage does not come from processing transactions; it is largely independent becomes increasingly wrong over time.