The problem with waiting AFAIK is that it's vulnerable to attacks on the underlying peer-to-peer network.
Let's say you wait 1 hour to see whether there was a double spend. If an attacker wanted to, they could spend twice and somehow mess with the network for 1 hour.
For example, an attacker at the internet service provider could intercept packets from the Bitcoin network and just block the other spend transaction from getting to you. You wait 1 hour and consider the payment finalized, and you swap goods for Bitcoin.
Today's governments wouldn't have the state capacity and ambition to achieve what those of the 1940s-1980s were capable of. We've regressed; we're incompetent and moat of our effort is directed at virtue signalling rather than progress.
In related news, the bank will soon be renamed to HFSP Bank, in recognition of the crucial role it plays in reducing the risk of its clients making too much money.
Sounds like the author knows a lot about AI and data but almost nothing about economics.
Prices exist for a reason; if power became more expensive that's because it was scarce. People need to stop using it or pay more so that power companies can build more supply.
There are also options like the Tesla Powerwall that will be helped by this event.
Another issue is that proof-of-work may simply be inferior to other consensus mechanisms because of hardware centralization. I think the cryptocurrency world needs to solve this problem at its own pace though. Ethereum is already rapidly heading to proof-of-stake, precisely because it's seen as better on its own merits without considering energy costs.
I think the mistake here is that the author doesn't understand the potential of cryptocurrency so sees electricity use for crypto as a pure cost. You can see this because of comparisons to centralized services.
On coal power: It's bad to use coal to mine Bitcoin, but it's bad to use coal to provide power for any activity. Coal power should be banned outright.