Mining is the process by which transactions on the Bitcoin network are verified and new bitcoins are created. Miners compete to validate transactions by solving complex mathematical problems and adding them to the blockchain, a public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions.
Miners are incentivized to participate in the network by the reward of newly minted bitcoins and transaction fees. The reward for solving a block is currently 6.25 bitcoins and is halved roughly every 210,000 blocks, which takes about 4 years.
The mining process helps to secure the network by making it difficult to alter previous transactions and add fraudulent ones, as any attempt to do so would require significant computational power to override the network consensus.
By solving mathematical problems, mining also helps to maintain the integrity and reliability of the blockchain, ensuring that all participants have the same version of the truth. This makes it difficult for a single miner or group of miners to manipulate the network and maintain the trust of the users.
In summary, mining supports the Bitcoin network by verifying transactions, creating new bitcoins, and maintaining the security and integrity of the blockchain.
