Thank you! I come to HN to have intelligent discussion as well, and I totally agree. If I go to Reddit it's mostly just a bunch of garbage, even with crypto fans. I do think HN is warming up to crypto, a little bit, at least, or maybe it's just that more crypto fans are speaking up here.
Anyway, like you said, crypto is already working. The network effects are real.
Also, PoW does require a lot of energy, which is a common argument, but this is energy that includes audits, transport and security of the system. For Bitcoin, that's currently over $1 trillion, which to me seems like it is worth securing.
There also do seem to be ways to use excess energy for PoW and make it more green, which seems promising. The energy can be captured anywhere on the planet and used to support the global Bitcoin network from wherever the energy is. There is so much potential in this network.
Anyway, like you said, crypto is already working. The network effects are real.
Also, PoW does require a lot of energy, which is a common argument, but this is energy that includes audits, transport and security of the system. For Bitcoin, that's currently over $1 trillion, which to me seems like it is worth securing.
There also do seem to be ways to use excess energy for PoW and make it more green, which seems promising. The energy can be captured anywhere on the planet and used to support the global Bitcoin network from wherever the energy is. There is so much potential in this network.