How Does Bitcoin Mining Work?
Bitcoin mining is essentially the process of adding and verifying transaction records to Bitcoin’s public ledger, known as the blockchain. This is crucial because it prevents fraud and ensures that every transaction is transparent and accessible.
Miners Solve Complex Mathematical Problems
Here’s how it works: Miners use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical problems. The first miner to solve the problem
gets to add a new block of transactions to the blockchain. As a reward for their efforts, the miner earns new bitcoins. This reward is what incentivizes miners to keep the blockchain secure and efficient.
New Blocks are Added
Every time a block is successfully added, the network updates and all the transactions in that block are confirmed and become irreversible. Each new block is linked to the previous one,which creates a secure and unbreakable chain.
The difficulty of the mathematical problems adjusts automatically. This ensures that a new block is added approximately every 10 minutes, regardless of how many miners are competing. This difficulty adjustment helps maintain the network’s integrity and smooth functioning.