No but it removes the need to delegate trust to managing the ledger to a bank. A bank which is required to be highly regulated, audited and with great physical security to earn that trust
Wasteful compared to which other network that manages money and protects property rights? Most popular place to mine bitcoin is the north-west of China where there are unused hydroplants
Who will give the Chinese Communist Party a voice now they have been censored? What's that? Oh they own all the newspapers, TV, radio and internet in the country of China.