Not Your Grandpa’s Mine

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of verifying transactions and adding them to a public ledger called a blockchain. Miners use specialized software and hardware to solve complex mathematical problems that are a result of the cryptographic functions that secure the transactions. When a miner solves a problem, they are rewarded with a certain amount of cryptocurrency, which incentivizes them to continue the process. As more miners participate in the network, the difficulty of the problems increases to maintain a stable rate of block production, which helps to prevent the inflation of the cryptocurrency.