The solution introduced by Bitcoin to this age-old computing problem involves maths, competition, and economic rewards, and goes by the name of mining.
Mining involves a competition for solving a complex mathematical problem, which takes on average 10 minutes and is adjusted every two weeks to account for current computing power. The winner gets to add the current block of transactions and receives a reward for their efforts (as we’ll explain below).
The catch is, everyone can easily verify that the solution is right. If a miner cheats, all other participants will simply discard the block. A cheater would lose not just the reward, but also all the money spent in energy to mine that block. This combined loss far outweighs any expected profits,
Although in theory anyone can participate in mining, the mathematical problem is so hard, and the competition so fierce that you’d need hundreds of specialised computers to even stand a chance today – which is quite an investment.
Despite the cost, mining is a very profitable competitive industry. This competition has so far ensured that no single party controls the majority of the mining power.
Moreover, this is a positive feedback cycle. The more value Bitcoin gains, the more miners in the network, the harder it becomes to cheat, and the more solid Bitcoin becomes.
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