GREENER
BITCOIN
MINING

Bitcoin is the most well-known type of cryptocurrency.  Cryptocurrency (or Bitcoin) mining is the process by which digital transactions are verified and added to a digital, public ledger known as a “blockchain.” This process is an essential service and the backbone of the payments system for blockchain networks like that of Bitcoin. Without mining, the network cannot support transactions or transfers. To validate transactions on the network, miners must expend massive amounts of electricity to solve complex computational problems for the right to create a block. This verification process is conducted by special purpose ASIC computers (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). This is the process known as “mining.” 

How are miners paid? Coded into the Bitcoin protocol is the miner “incentive” system whereby arms-length mining operators are rewarded for their validation efforts in both a predetermined and variable number of Bitcoin (currently 6.25 Bitcoin plus +BTC transaction fees) for each block created. This incentive system is commonly referred to as the “block reward.” The Bitcoin protocol also incorporates a self-regulating governor known as “network difficulty,” designed to moderate block creation time (and thus, the supply of new Bitcoin) in response to changes in network computing power. Network difficulty adjusts every 2016 blocks, varying the complexity of the computational problem in order to target an average block creation time of 10 minutes. As more miners join the network, the amount of computing power required to mine a Bitcoin goes up and vice versa.