Mining
The process of competing with computing power to add new blocks and mint fresh coins under proof of work.
Mining is how proof-of-work chains add blocks and release new coins. Machines repeatedly hash a block's data with different inputs until one clears the network's difficulty target. That winning guess proves real work was done, and the network accepts the block.
Difficulty adjusts so blocks keep arriving at a steady pace as more or less hardware joins. The flip side is energy: Bitcoin mining consumes as much electricity as a mid-sized country, a long-running criticism.
Related terms
A participant who spends computing power to solve proof-of-work puzzles and earn the right to add a block.
Proof of Work (PoW)A consensus method where miners burn computing power to earn the right to add blocks and deter cheating.
HashA fixed-length fingerprint produced by running data through a one-way function; any change yields a completely different output.
Block RewardNew coins plus fees paid to whoever adds the next valid block, the main incentive securing the chain.