Unforeseen Consequences and that 1929 vibe
The bitcoin mining industry will end once the electricity (and hardware) becomes more expensive than the value of mined bitcoins - it stops being economically feasible. If we&#x27;re already breaking .1% of the world&#x27;s energy consumption, then we&#x27;re probably pretty close.<p>Bitcoins will continue to be valuable, short of some security flaw wrecking them, simply because of scarcity and functionality. But if they can&#x27;t be used for a majority of (legal) financial transactions, the value will be limited. And as long as the exchange rates are highly unstable and exchanges are unreliable&#x2F;untrustworthy, mainstream banking won&#x27;t touch it with a ten foot pole. They don&#x27;t want the risk.