Proof of Work
A consensus method in which participants compete to solve a computational puzzle to add the next block, making rewriting history expensive. Bitcoin uses it.
Also called PoW · mining
A consensus method in which participants compete to solve a computational puzzle to add the next block, making rewriting history expensive. Bitcoin uses it.
Why it matters
Security comes from the cost of the computation, which is why energy use is intrinsic to the design rather than incidental.
Related terms
- Proof of Stake
- Hash Rate
- Halving
Keep reading
Gas Fee
The payment for the computation a blockchain transaction consumes, paid in the network's own…
DeFi
Financial services — lending, trading, derivatives — built from smart contracts rather than intermediaries,…
Ethereum
A blockchain designed to run programs — smart contracts — as well as move…
Bridge
A system for moving value between blockchains, typically locking an asset on one chain…
Audit
A review of a smart contract's code by a specialist firm, looking for vulnerabilities…
Liquidity Pool
A pot of two or more tokens locked in a contract that traders swap…