Yeah it is bad. But don't write off cryptocurrency forever because of it. Ethereum used to be Proof of Work also, but made the transition to Proof of Stake, which has basically had no issues or exploits and reduced electricity usage more than 99%. Most modern chains like SOL and BNB happily have completely abandoned the antiquated PoW mechanisms.
What crypto needs is regulation and enforcement (and a better use case than just number go up); unfortunately under Trump the US will possibly get the former, certainly not the latter.
Maybe 2027 I suppose.