Bitcoin is an extremely inefficient computing platform. There's no silver lining to BTC, it's simply a moderately big, potentially huge mistake in the history of modern technology.
The value of decentralized system far outweighs the cost of maintaining it especially when it comes to money. Could bitcoin be more efficient? Absolutely, but to call it big mistake of modern technology is just silly.
It takes time to build/deploy/grow these exchanges (since they are essentially a 2 sided marketplace).
Bitcoin uses less electricity than Christmas lights and provides a completely electric, transparent, uncensorable currency.
You could power Christmas lights for several Christmas if not a lifetime with the electricity used in a BTC transaction. Let that sink in.
People way overestimate how much energy Bitcoin uses and way underestimate how much simple things like christmas lights, video games, hockey rinks, etc. use.
Mining rate and therefore energy costs are based on the blockchain mining parameters, not the number of users. If there were a ton more users, you'd likely see more transactions on the Lightning network, with Lightning nodes settling out on the main Bitcoin blockchain, but it wouldn't impact energy use substantially.
About the only thing that impacts energy use at this point is the price. One can reasonably estimate that, steady state, the value of the energy used is roughly equal to the total block rewards.
Bitcoin doesn't work that way. Energy usage doesn't scale anywhere near linear with the number of users.
Think of it this way: the Bitcoin network is buying security, not transactions, from miners.
If gold was invented today, what would it look like, and how would it function?
I'm not saying it works particularly well yet but the idea is sound.
But there are literally thousands of those!
As for the banking system, Bitcoin is part of it now. Banks offer cryptocurrency-backed accounts, and if it becomes big, you will probably get all the stuff that banking does like loans, escrow services and fast, reversible transactions. There will be regulations and I guess a fractional reserve system will follow.
And how is it uncensorable? All it takes for a state to censor it is to declare it illegal with harsh sentences for those who get caught and embargoes on countries that don't play along.
As for Christmas lights, I think you are way off. Care to share the numbers.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2020/08/06/v...
(of which the top 3 already account for more BTC than Elon) also unwise?
BTC is inefficient (OP) to
why did Elon buy (you) to
understanding the difference between rich and ethical (last comment) to
rich investors being wise or not (you again)
To make it short: Just because Elon or rich investors buy doesn't mean they are unwise (for themselves) just that it's bad for the world (ecologically), so basically both can be true. Just the difference between thinking about themselves and thinking about other people as well...