| Paatar said: Could someone in layman’s terms explain “mining†to me? I’ve tried to understand it but I just can’t. How does it get “mined� What’s the process? Why does it consume energy? What’s using energy to mine it? |
Think about it as finding the next prime number. You pick a number, then you test if it's divisible by any previous number. It takes more and more effort to find the next one.
Bitcoin uses a vastly more complex mathematic formula which requires a lot of computations to find the next block.
"Mining" is performed using sophisticated hardware that solves an extremely complex computational math problem. The first computer to find the solution to the problem is awarded the next block of bitcoins and the process begins again.
https://www.investopedia.com/tech/how-does-bitcoin-mining-work/
