OK. But first explain how a bad actor could off-set the potential wasted resources from a 51% attack, and would that it be better to profit through honest mining.
he just explained how:
A potential attacker could either buy up mining equipment, or if it was a government entity, could seize miners physically located within the country.
the government threat is the reason why china's share of the hash rate is concerning. they could take control of all the major mining farms, pools, even the chip manufacturers.
i'm also paranoid about stuff like
antbleed (the backdoor bitmain built into antminer firmware) which could play a role in this kind of theoretical attack.
Then that's where we might be underestimating the fact that the Bitcoin network/protocol is composed of people. I believe if there was that direct threat from the Chinese government, a POW change is in the discussion.