I mean, it's safe to assume that most of the "Bitcoin is a waste of energy" people probably didn't even spend enough time thinking to grasp the concept of "store of energy". That, along with the dozens and dozens of nonsense criticisms against Bitcoin.
As far as I know though, the argument against Bitcoin's energy usage is mostly in the environmental perspective. That Bitcoin is unnecessary hence is causing unnecessary damage to the environment. Funnily enough, people criticize Bitcoin's energy usage with them turning a blind eye on other "unnecessary"(not necessarily bad, but not necessarily needed for humanity to survive) energy hogs such as Christmas lights and gaming consoles.
Or look how much energy is wasted on mostly unnecessary grass loans. Here's
a good article article on this matter.
Overall, Bitcooin contribution to the CO2 emissions is around 0.05%. So, there are many other industries worth bringing to the attention in this regard.
If you spend $99 dollars and get $100 back then its worth mining.
So generally speaking, the amount of money wasted mining bitcoin is roughly equivalent to the amount of coins generated by mining.
This actually puts a cap on the value of bitcoin which is why its never going to get to a million like some people claim
I'd like you to elaborate your point because I think I'm not the only one who can't get it.
Where is the constant changing of the BTC/USD rate in your calculations? And do you know that there are times when people keep mining at a loss for months in hopes of the future price increase?