What Is Bitcoin Mining?  – The Coin Republic: Cryptocurrency , Bitcoin, Ethereum & Blockchain News

The word mining came into existence long back and, at that time, was not classified because that meant digging natural resources and using them further for a wide variety of work.  

But after the development of Bitcoin, a new kind of mining came into existence called ‘crypto mining,’ and from this word, Bitcoin Mining was born. Still, as per reliable data, the crypto-mining concept was first used by anonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. 

Satoshi was the one who introduced the concept of Bitcoin mining and demonstrated Bitcoin mining in the whitepaper of Bitcoin, which was published 14 years ago before the launch of Bitcoin. 

Proof-of-Work is the consensus mechanism on which Bitcoin is being generated. According to the white of Bitcoin, it is noted that The proof-of-work involves scanning for a value that, when hashed, such as with SHA-256, the hash begins with several zero bits. The average work required is exponential in the number of zero bits required and can be verified by executing a single hash.

Bitcoin mining operations use heavy equipment to solve complicated maths problems and verify blockchain transactions. The number of carbon emissions produced by such activities contributes to the greenhouse effect, leading to a rise in the earth’s temperature. Cryptocurrencies using PoW algorithms are the prime reason behind this issue.

Cryptocurrency mining produced around 110 Million and 170 Million metric tons of carbon pollution globally and 25 million to 50 million metric tons in the United States alone. The process generates energy by purchasing it from power grids or using computer and mining frameworks.

White Paper of Satoshi also states that The majority decision is represented by the longest chain, which has the greatest proof-of-work effort invested in it. If honest nodes control most CPU power, the honest chain will grow the fastest and outpace any competing chains. To modify a past block, an attacker would have to redo the block’s proof-of-work and all blocks after it and then catch up with and surpass the work of the honest nodes.

At present Bitcoin Mining and its profitability have raised hundreds of questions because BTC mining is considered the father of all other mining because the concept of crypto mining or BTC mining came into mainstream after the efforts of Satoshi Nakamoto.

BTC’s halving is due in 2024 which will increase mining difficulty considerably. Now, another question remains whether it will escalate the prices to levels the experts anticipate or not. Another point for consideration is whether this proof-of-work asset will stay in the game as Ethereum has transitioned their consensus to proof of stake.

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