A recent study has conclusively proven that it is completely worth it to mine Bitcoin. Taken that mining not only creates new coins through the reward sysgem, but verifies transactions and settles payments. Compared to the energy cost of transporting gold from place to place: not in account against the mining cost alone, it is therefore more efficient to mine Bitcoin as a store of value and currency. Backing BTC with gold could work and justify the cost of mining gold.
For full article read here https://www.ccn.com/mining-gold-requires-20x-the-energy-of-bitcoin-mining/amp/
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From @andyrc