Well, that's literally the definition of "opportunity cost". So it's expected in any reasonable economic analysis. I'm not defending proof-of-work cryptocurren

Well, that's literally the definition of "opportunity cost". So it's expected in any reasonable economic analysis. I'm not defending proof-of-work cryptocurrencies at all. I'm bringing it up because the culture within the field of economics generally seems to have forgotten to compare alternatives, rather than doing analysis based on some idealized vacuum scenario. Once you're aware of this you will see it everywhere.