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Bitcoin - Anyone mined them for money?


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Bitcoin mining

To implement a distributed timestamp server on a peer-to-peer basis, bitcoin uses a proof-of-work system similar to Adam Back's Hashcash, rather than newspaper or Usenet posts. This often called bitcoin mining.

The mining process or proof-of-work process involves scanning for a value that when hashed, such as with SHA-256, the hash begins with a number of zero bits. The average work required is exponential in the number of zero bits required and can be verified by executing a single hash.

For the bitcoin timestamp network, it implements the mining process or "proof-of-work" by incrementing a nonce in the record or "block" until a value is found that gives the block's hash the required zero bits. Once the hashing effort has been expended to make it satisfy the proof-of-work, the block cannot be changed without redoing the work. As later records or "blocks" are chained after it, the work to change the block would include redoing all the blocks after it.

The main chain (black) consists of the longest series of transaction records from the genesis block (green) to the current block or record. Orphaned records (purple) exist outside of the main chain.

The mining process solves the problem of determining representation in majority decision making. If the majority were based on one-IP-address-one-vote, it could be subverted by anyone able to allocate many IPs. Mining is essentially one-CPU-one-vote.

The majority decision is represented by the longest chain, which has the greatest proof-of-work effort invested in it. If a majority of computing power is controlled by honest nodes, the honest chain will grow the fastest and outpace any competing chains. To modify a past block, an attacker would have to redo the proof-of-work of the block and all blocks after it and then catch up with and surpass the work of the honest nodes. The probability of a slower attacker catching up diminishes exponentially as subsequent blocks are added.

To compensate for increasing hardware speed and varying interest in running nodes over time, the proof-of-work difficulty is determined by a moving average targeting an average number of blocks per hour. If they're generated too fast, the difficulty increases.

This is what Wikipedia says (as I had to look it up).......still beyond me though :)

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basically it uses computer processing power to solve a complex maths problem, this bit is called mining as it takes time to do it. Once you have mined enough you are rewarded a bit coin, a bit coin has real value and currently 1 bit coin is worth £17!!



You can join groups who join together to use their processing power of their computers to mine the coins.



Get me?


Edited by Taggy
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So who or what is using this mining and for what purpose, an where is this bit coin coming from? Whos giving it too you?

I remember my ps3 had a random thing on it that was something to do with some university using the processing power of the console for something, but i have no idea what the hell that was on about either lol

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