Proof of stake

I’ve been looking into crypto a bunch recently.

I was originally put off by the electricity use from proof of work. That’s still how I feel about Bitcoin. (Though I do wonder about its energy use compared to, say, the physical operations of financial institutions that it could theoretically replace.) But now that it seems like major coins are moving to proof of stake, I’m more on board.

But there are still plenty of theoretical problems with proof of stake. They basically swirl around

1. the possibility of rich users to get 51% stake and thereby corrupt the system, or
2. validators eventually losing their incentives as time goes on, which leaves the currency worthless.

I’m still processing this myself. At a glance, it seems to me like (a) is an issue in any system. Even if the currency solves it, external factors can compel individual users to vote as a block. And I’m not sure if (b) would result in the end of the system or just a steady state of operations, possibly propped up by large organizations who have an interest in a large pool of wealth remaining constant.