Isn't there an argument that a lot of the mining is done in places where energy is cheap because it is in abundance and would be unused otherwise? Near hydroelectric sources?
This is absolutely false. A fairy tale told by those who want you to buy their crypto currencies. Take Wenatchee, a village in Eastern Washington, USA, for example. Wenatchee has very cheap power because the water dam is very close nearby.
When crypto currency miners poured into the city, the power grid got overloaded and the local authorities had to raise prices drastically. The city finally decided to ban all mining but there are still many rogue miners left, operating from basements around the city. They let the local population foot their costs by mining for cheap and leave when prices need to rise to support the grid.
Mining crypto currencies is morally corrupt and hurts our environment more than anything ever before without generating any value.
Stop being deliberately dense. The act of "moving ions" has huge externalities, mainly in the form of pollution, and that is obviously the morality that is being referred to here.
Your comment is like saying you're baffled that shooting someone is immoral because it's just "moving metal around".
