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judymcconville@roadrunner.com 2017-05-02 11:18:36 -07:00
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@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ At the time of writing, the network is attempting to find a block whose header h
[[target_bits]]
==== Target Representation
((("mining and consensus", "mining the block", "target representation")))((("targets")))In <<block277316>>, we saw that the block contains the target, in a notation called "target bits" or just "bits," which in block 277,316 has the value of +0x1903a30c+. This notation expresses the Proof-of-Work target as a coefficient/exponent format, with the first two hexadecimal digits for the exponent and the next six hex digits as the coefficient. In this block, therefore, the exponent is +0x19+ and the coefficient is +0x03a30c+.
((("mining and consensus", "mining the block", "target representation")))((("targets", id="targets10")))In <<block277316>>, we saw that the block contains the target, in a notation called "target bits" or just "bits," which in block 277,316 has the value of +0x1903a30c+. This notation expresses the Proof-of-Work target as a coefficient/exponent format, with the first two hexadecimal digits for the exponent and the next six hex digits as the coefficient. In this block, therefore, the exponent is +0x19+ and the coefficient is +0x03a30c+.
The formula to calculate the difficulty target from this representation is:
@ -689,7 +689,7 @@ The difficulty of mining a bitcoin block is approximately '10 minutes of process
Note that the target is independent of the number of transactions or the value of transactions. This means that the amount of hashing power and therefore electricity expended to secure bitcoin is also entirely independent of the number of transactions. Bitcoin can scale up, achieve broader adoption, and remain secure without any increase in hashing power from today's level. The increase in hashing power represents market forces as new miners enter the market to compete for the reward. As long as enough hashing power is under the control of miners acting honestly in pursuit of the reward, it is enough to prevent "takeover" attacks and, therefore, it is enough to secure bitcoin.
The difficulty of mining is closely related to the cost of electricity and the exchange rate of bitcoin vis-a-vis the currency used to pay for electricity. High-performance mining systems are about as efficient as possible with the current generation of silicon fabrication, converting electricity into hashing computation at the highest rate possible. The primary influence on the mining market is the price of one kilowatt-hour of electricity in bitcoin, because that determines the profitability of mining and therefore the incentives to enter or exit the mining market.
The difficulty of mining is closely related to the cost of electricity and the exchange rate of bitcoin vis-a-vis the currency used to pay for electricity. High-performance mining systems are about as efficient as possible with the current generation of silicon fabrication, converting electricity into hashing computation at the highest rate possible. The primary influence on the mining market is the price of one kilowatt-hour of electricity in bitcoin, because that determines the profitability of mining and therefore the incentives to enter or exit the mining market.((("", startref="targets10")))
=== Successfully Mining the Block