I would be much happier if there were no innovation. Instead of just wasting electricity, we are wasting lives and minds. We have teams designing custom silicon to print Bitcoin. At least it's better than them working for Google, I suppose.

A "mine" is just a big warehouse full of jerry-rigged infrastructure. It will employ maybe two people and will pack up shop in an afternoon if the owners find cheaper electricity elsewhere. It doesn't provide any value to the local economy.