You can use it (f.e transfer of value - like bitcoin) without validation. Just like any other coin. Transfers are fast and cheap. But if you want to mine you have 3 choices:

1-invest huge amount of money into POS shitcoins for like 5-10% annual roi
2-invest 3000$ in antminer or GPUs
3-spend 20 min once per 11 days to solve flips.

There is no coin that is more miner-friendly. There is no coin that you can mine with such low entry barrier. There is no coin that is more decentralized (1000 uniqe nodes with equal votes validates your transaction)

BTW: https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1246567822974750722 Vitalik is bullish on IDENA.