Creepy stuff aside, I think there is a lot of usefulness. However, you make a great point with the power consumption. I was actually reading a little about that and should have added that in the article. The energy consumption is possibly even worse than bitcoin.
The good news is, necessity is the mother of invention. Maybe they'll have to roll out a clean, cheap, energy source that they've been hiding from everyone. Could be wishful thinking too. Or maybe because there's a need, we make a breakthrough in cold fusion. Again, wishful thinking but who knows. It would be nice if something GOOD crazy actually happened for once. 😄
I think a lot of people overlook the energy issue when it comes to this and we probably shouldn't. That factor alone is reason for pause I guess.