What Is Proof of Work (PoW) in Blockchain?
Adekunle Joshua
Proof of Work is a consensus mechanism used to secure and validate transactions on a blockchain network
It was introduced by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto as a fundamental building block of Bitcoin
At its core, PoW requires participants, known as miners, to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to add new blocks of transactions to the blockchain
Miners compete against each other to solve these puzzles by making multiple attempts, using significant computational power
The first miner to find a valid solution gets the right to add the next block and receives a reward in the form of cryptocurrency
The difficulty of the mathematical puzzles is designed to ensure that, on average, only one block is added to the blockchain every 10 minutes
This mechanism helps maintain a consistent pace for transaction confirmation and prevents double-spending
Proof of Work has proven to be a robust consensus mechanism and remains widely used in various cryptocurrencies.