Bitcoin Mining: Hash Rate Competition and Energy Controversy
Bitcoin mining is the core mechanism for maintaining blockchain security. Miners compete for the right to record transactions by calculating hash values and receive BTC rewards. As the hash rate increases, the mining difficulty adjusts to ensure that block production remains approximately every 10 minutes. However, Bitcoin's energy consumption (primarily relying on the PoW mechanism) has sparked widespread controversy. Supporters argue that miners are shifting towards renewable energy (such as hydro and wind power), while critics call for more environmentally friendly consensus mechanisms. Despite this, the decentralization and security of the Bitcoin network still rely on strong hash rate protection.