Blockchain Popular Science | What is mining and what exactly is being mined?
Taking Bitcoin, which everyone is familiar with, as an example, blockchain is essentially a decentralized accounting system that people all over the world can participate in building. However, in the design logic of the Bitcoin blockchain, those who participate in the construction must solve a mathematical problem. Globally, whoever solves this problem first within ten minutes can determine the generation of the next block and receive a certain amount of Bitcoin as a reward.
This chain is made up of blocks that are continuously generated by solving problems, but the difficulty of this mathematical problem is very high.
How high is it? It's so high that it cannot be calculated by human effort alone; we need to contribute the computational power of our computers. This behavior can be referred to as computational power mining, or it can be called a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism.
In simple terms, PoW mining is the process of competing for accounting rights, and the blockchain is the ledger.
Mining is a core part of Bitcoin production; it is not only a way to obtain digital currency but also an important mechanism for verifying and maintaining the operation of blockchain technology. Participants earn newly generated Bitcoins as rewards by solving complex mathematical problems, known as "proof of work."
In layman's terms: using a computer to solve some complex mathematical problems and contributing computational power earns rewards (cryptocurrency).
Miner: A node that verifies transactions and creates new blocks by solving complex mathematical problems. Miners receive a certain amount of cryptocurrency as a reward.
Mining machine: A hardware device specifically used for cryptocurrency mining, including chips, integrated circuits, graphics cards, etc.
