Mining News
Mining is the process by which Proof-of-Work (PoW) tokens, such as Bitcoin, are created. The process involves utilizing computers whose sole purpose is to solve increasingly difficult calculations and ‘crack the code’, for which they are rewarded a portion of that cryptocurrency – a bit like a gold miner who is given a fraction of the gold he has mined as payment. Bitcoin and the Bitcoin Cash variants are mined using ASIC mining hardware from firms such as Bitmain, while other PoW tokens are mined using computer graphics cards, meaning they can be mined at home by anyone who wants to do so. Most PoW cryptocurrencies have a set number that will ever be mined (Bitcoin has 21 million), so miners are competing over a finite amount. In cases such as Bitcoin, the principle purpose of mining is to keep the blockchain moving rather than just mining coins for profit.