If everyone thinks this way, and if everyone starts using energy to mine bitcoin in addition to everything else (i.e. a lot more energy than an average household currently does), energy prices will go up and everyone will suffer + environmental damage. I think governments can discourage people but not restrict them because, as you said yourself, people pay for the energy they use, so they have the right to use it however they want. The practice of “Nudging” may come in handy on this case.