[MereInterest]

Good point, I missed a few from my list.

* "Proof of stake will save us." Proof of stake embeds the rich getting richer into the very fabric of a currency. It provides a guaranteed net positive return for transaction validation, in the same way that proof of work provides a guaranteed net positive return for electricity usage. In both cases, if the return were not net positive, then transaction validation would not occur, and the "currency" couldn't be spent.

* "Proof of stake is at least better." I'll agree with that one, since it has fewer externalities. But that's like saying that a dumpster fire is better than a car fire. Neither are good, but one of them is less bad. There's also nothing stopping the proof-of-work transaction validators from switching to the next proof-of-work coin, so I don't think the existence of a marginally better alternative will remove the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies.

[danuker]

I thank you for making these problems explicit. I am very curious what the wealth distribution of Cardano looks like and will do some analysis.