[root_axis]

> It's only a valid comparison when compared against current usage, as our current system also "wastes" power to run the current system.

No, even if "the current system" was an apt comparison, there is still a fundamental difference between PoW and everything else. The power consumed in the process of facilitating a bank or any type of business is incidental to the useful work being performed. Power is burned so there are lights for people to see, power is burned so computers can perform calculations so that employees can get their jobs done faster, power is burned so that people can go back home after their shift is over; all this is incidental, the power is expended to make the business process more efficient, but the business could still run (though much less efficiently) without spending power on lights, computers and transportation. On the other hand, PoW is literally a waste of work because the nature of the work itself does not matter, the only thing that matters is that the unbounded cost of wasting energy keeps everyone honest.

> I'm just saying it's meaningless to complain that bitcoin uses power, it only matters how it compares to the current system.

The comparison is meaningless because "the current system" continues to exist regardless of any developments in bitcoin, if anything ubiquitous bitcoin would almost certainly increase the power impact of the finance industry.