Proof of work is not the only scheme to ensure consensus. There are multiple projects based on some kind of proof of stake. One of the most promising such projects is EOS in my opinion. I suggest you not to gain knowledge about cryptocurrencies on HN. Yes, cryptocurrency forums may be an echo chamber, but HN seems to be the other way around. Lot of HN-ers are extremely cynical about cryptocurrencies, so you will mostly hear the bad news here. Reality is not as black and white as most commenters here suggest.
New coins using proof-of-stake should look to Peercoin for guidance. It's the oldest PoS coin, had no premine/developer fee. (note that it does use PoW for distribution).
> Lot of HN-ers are extremely cynical about cryptocurrencies
I think cryptocoins are great but we can all see folks dumping their money into assets that they have no hope of understanding, guided by FOMO. As a whole it seems like there's not enough cynicism.
