> It means that you have to take precautions instead of the government telling you what you can or can't do (using money they took from you anyway).
That's true! And I do prefer the world in which I pay the government to take care of this, because as an individual I have no chance against organized, professional scammers. Wild West is a fun thing to watch in movies (or at least the fictional recreation of it, with more shooting and less filth); but definitely not a nice time to live in, compared to today.
> I hope that the cryptocurrency that ends up winning is energy efficient.
That needs to be a structural change though; shaving off factors of the exponent in the middle of PoW isn't going to help. But 'spir here says that Ethereum cracked the proof-of-stake, which is the exact development that needed to happen for crypto to be feasible.
It means that you have to take precautions instead of the government telling you what you can or can't do (using money they took from you anyway).
The energy concerns are valid. I hope that the cryptocurrency that ends up winning is energy efficient.