What is cryptocurrency/Bitcoin mining?
Cryptocurrency mining is the process of adding new blocks to a blockchain and earning cryptocurrency rewards in return. Cryptocurrency miners use computer hardware to solve complex mathematical problems. These problems are very resource-intensive, resulting in heavy electricity consumption.
The miner that provides the correct solution to the problem first gets to add the new block of transactions to the blockchain and receives a reward in return for their work. Bitcoin miners are rewarded with BTC, Ethereum miners are rewarded with ETH, and so forth.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin feature an algorithm that adjusts the mining difficulty depending on how much computing power is being used to mine it. In other words – as more and more people and businesses start mining Bitcoin, mining Bitcoin becomes more difficult and resource-intensive. This feature is implemented so that the Bitcoin block time remains close to its 10 minute target and the supply of BTC follows a predictable curve.
Cryptocurrencies that reach consensus through mining are referred to as Proof-of-Work coins. However, alternative designs such as Proof-of-Stake are used by some cryptocurrencies instead of mining.