The ((("mining", "purpose of")))((("bitcoins", "mining", "purpose of")))word "mining" is somewhat
misleading. By evoking the extraction of precious metals, it focuses our
attention on the reward for mining, the new bitcoins created in each
block. Although mining is incentivized by this reward, the primary
@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ Mining
is one of the mechanisms by which Bitcoin's _consensus security_ is _decentralized_.
====
Miners record new transactions on the global blockchain. A
Miners ((("bitcoins", "mining", "operational overview", id="bitcoin-mining-overview")))((("mining", "operational overview", id="mining-overview")))record new transactions on the global blockchain. A
new block, containing transactions that occurred since the last block,
is _mined_ every 10 minutes on average, thereby adding those
transactions to the blockchain. Transactions that become part of a block
@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ In some protocols built on top of Bitcoin, the topological order of
Bitcoin transactions is also used to establish a sequence of events;
we'll discuss that idea further in <<single_use_seals>>.
Miners receive two types of rewards in
Miners((("bitcoins", "mining", "incentives")))((("mining", "incentives")))((("incentives"))) receive two types of rewards in
return for the security provided by mining: new bitcoins created with each
new block (called the _subsidy_), and transaction fees from all the transactions included in
the block. To earn this reward, miners compete to satisfy a challenge
To understand mining and consensus, we will track Alice's transaction
as it is received and added to a block by Jing's mining equipment. Then
we will follow the block as it is mined, added to the blockchain, and
accepted by the Bitcoin network through the process of emergent
accepted by the Bitcoin network through the process of ((("bitcoins", "mining", "operational overview", startref="bitcoin-mining-overview")))((("mining", "operational overview", startref="mining-overview")))emergent
clenser
7 months ago