what is mining? what miners do?

If you've been in digital currency for a while, you've probably heard the words 'Mining' or 'Miner'. If you are interested in the process of extracting cryptocurrencies we recommend that you read this article.

Have you ever wondered what the process of extracting cryptocurrency is like? Or how are your cryptocurrency transactions verified and added to the blockchain? To answer this question, we first need to look for a simple definition of mining.

 

Mining or cryptocurrency mining

The process of authenticating transactions by a computer and then adding them to a long, public list called a blockchain that includes all other transactions is, called "mining" or cryptocurrency mining .In fact, cryptocurrency mining is the process by which transactions between users are verified and added to the blockchain general office.

The mining process is also responsible for introducing new coins into the existing stream, enabling cryptocurrencies to operate as a decentralized peer-to-peer network without the need for a central authority.

Individuals in cryptocurrencies receive cryptocurrencies as a reward by performing mining processes. It is interesting to know that anyone with a computer and Internet access can become a miner. But this is not the whole story!

 

What do miners do?

Miners perform important operations such as solving math problems to verify other users' transactions over the Internet in the blockchain network.

They protect blockchains from scams and hacker attacks and ensure network decentralization. But you should know that the mining process, although easy, is not always profitable. Depending on a number of factors, such as which cryptocurrency you are mining, how fast your computer is, and the cost of electricity in your area, the cost may ultimately be more than the profit.

 

How is the process of mining cryptocurrency?

We explain the process of mining cryptocurrency in seven steps:

1.       A user makes a transaction through the cryptocurrencies in her/his wallet and tries to send her/his digital asset or token to someone else anywhere in the world.

2.       The transaction is announced through the wallet program and at that moment it waits for a miner to be selected on this blockchain. This transaction is suspended in the "Unverified Transaction Pool" until Miner selects it. This pool is a collection of unverified transactions on the network awaiting processing. Unapproved transactions are not usually collected in one large pool, but most are in several small classified pools.

3.       The miners in the network, also called nodes, select transactions from these pools and form them into a "block". A block basically contains a set of transactions that does not currently include unverified transactions, in addition to some additional information such as digital signatures, timers, and so on. Each miner creates its own block of transactions, and several miners can choose the same transaction to be included in their block. For example: Consider miners A and B, both miners A and B can decide to include transaction X in their block. Each blockchain has its own maximum block size. In the Bitcoin blockchain, the maximum block size is 1 MB. Before adding a transaction to their blockchain, miners should check whether the transaction is eligible for execution based on the blockchain properties. If the sender's wallet balance is sufficiently budgeted, given the records in the blockchain, the transaction is considered valid and can be added to the block. Miners usually prioritize a transaction that has a high transaction cost, as this will provide them with a higher reward. This happens when the number of blockchain network transactions is so large that all miners are busy and the transactions have to wait longer to be approved. At this time, the user who intends to perform the transaction can increase his fee and place his transaction in the priority of miners.

4.       Miners create a block of transactions by selecting transactions and adding them to their block. They need a signature in the blockchain to add this block of transactions. This signature, also known as "proof of work", is made by solving a very complex mathematical problem and is unique to each block of transactions. Each block has a different math problem. So each miner will work on a different problem specific to his block. Each of these problems is so difficult to solve that it requires a lot of computing power and a lot of electricity. This is the process called mining. This is where the power of your computer plays a very important role in the amount of rewards you receive.

5.       A miner who can find the first eligible signature for its block will publish this block and its signature to other miners.

6.       Other miners must now verify the signature using the scattered block data and check whether the output hash matches the existing signature. If it matches, other miners will validate it and as a result this block can be added to the blockchain. In fact, the miners reach a consensus that they all agree on, hence it is called the "consensus algorithm". In fact, the signature is the proof of the work done and the computational power used to solve the mathematical problem. This block can now be added to the blockchain and sent to all other nodes on the network. Other nodes also accept this block and store it in their transaction data as long as the transactions in the block correctly match the current wallet balance - the transaction history - at that time.

7.       After a block is added to the blockchain, any other block that is added after it is considered "confirmation" for that block. For example, if your transaction is registered in block 695 and the blockchain has 700 blocks, it means that your transaction has 5 confirmations (695 to 700). The reason it is called confirmation is that every time another block is added after it, the blockchain again completely agrees on the transaction history - including your transaction and your block. As a result, you can say that your transaction has been verified five times by blockchain. This is exactly what the "Etherscan" or "BSCscan" site refers to when showing your transaction details. The more verified your transaction is, that is, the deeper a block is in the chain, the harder it will be for hackers to change it. After a new block is added to the blockchain, all miners must restart from the third stage and form a new block of transactions.

We hope you find this post useful.

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