|
| Over simplified version
Mining machines preform a mathematical equation to confirm data is being validated properly and no one is able to cheat the network. The miners are paid for this. Pretty much any modern computer can mine but to do it profitably you need a specially designed machine because they need to use electricity efficiently.
The idea behind "mining" is to make it so attacking the network is more costly than defending it. To corrupt the bitcoin network someone would have to over 50% of the computing power. Pulling off the attack would be more costly than just mining bitcoin itself or just buying it outright. Partly Because of electricity cost.
Bitcoin uses a ton of power but doesn't really waste that much because to be cost competitive cheap electricity is required. Most of the mining comes from miners paying less than 5 cents a kilowatt hour. The power is usually stranded power or electricity that would be otherwise wasted. A miner might only run at night in a city that uses large turbines that cannot be sped up or slowed down easily to adjust so the miner just uses up the otherwise waisted power. Mining from hydro dams geothermal powers or flair gas that would just be burned off is also common. Many of these locations don't have the infrastructure to transmit the excess power produced to large population centers.
Complaining about bitcoin mining being wasteful is like complaining that because Americans use to much water people in Africa have to walk a mile to get water everyday. | |
|
Bitcoin question
