[copenocoiner]

>What does humanity have to gain generally, with an increasing share of our energy and chip manufacturing output going towards an essentially pointless activity?

Let us ban all internet chat. People can use smoke signals and paper mail instead. (Aside, the latency differential between internet messaging and paper mail is extremely similar to the differential between legacy settlement technology and blockchain-based.)

Let us ban video games. Board games worked for thousands of years.

Let us ban all video streaming. Let people use local video stores instead of all this high energy information broadcasting.

You ask this question from ignorance. You assume the new technology is pointless, when in fact it represents a sea change in finance, contracts, and international order. There are use cases and financial instruments that are impossible with legacy technology. To call it pointless is simply wrong. Anyone from any country with the ability to broadcast and receive hash strings can participate, this is not an exclusive endeavor.