During this process the miners are making active decisions on which checks to include. Not only do the miners have to make sure checks are valid, but they also have to make numerous choices beyond this, usually focused on maximizing revenue by selecting the checks that provide the highest fee to the miner. So a miner who creates a block is explicitly making decisions about which transactions to confirm. This successful miner, like our village stonecarver, is a money transmitter. Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro A lot is happening on the mining landscape. With the mentioned concerns, including mining centralisation and the fact that the rewards can’t make up for the costs of hardware and electricity, newer blockchains and altcoins have been adopting various methods to limit miner’s influence and drift away from POW. While POW seems to be favouring the biggest hardware rigs, newer schemes like Proof of Stake (POS) are already making a statement that reward miners based on a different set of factors.
Assuming a miner has the right equipment and access to low-cost energy and unlimited broadband internet access, plus the price of Bitcoin is high enough, the biggest pro of Bitcoin mining is that it can be a source of income. In addition to personal profit, Bitcoin miners also play an important role in providing the processing power needed by the Bitcoin network to ensure security and trustworthiness. The decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network requires Bitcoin miners to do the heavy lifting to make sure the network runs smoothly. Bitcoin Uses More Electricity Than Many Countries. How Is That Possible? Cryptopedia does not guarantee the reliability of the Site content and shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. The opinions and views expressed in any Cryptopedia article are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions of Gemini or its management. The information provided on the Site is for informational purposes only, and it does not constitute an endorsement of any of the products and services discussed or investment, financial, or trading advice. A qualified professional should be consulted prior to making financial decisions. Please visit our Cryptopedia Site Policy to learn more.