Ethereum is replacing proof-of-work with proof-of-stake in 2020, which should help with this.

But what are you comparing the cost of running Bitcoin to, the entire world's banking infrastructure? Does this take into account all of money that has slipped through the cracks over the years?

i.e. https://www.thenation.com/article/pentagon-audit-budget-frau...

> "there were no ledger entries or receipts to back up how that $6.5 trillion supposedly was spent"

> "In all, at least a mind-boggling $21 trillion of Pentagon financial transactions between 1998 and 2015 could not be traced, documented, or explained"