Proof of Work (PoW) is a decentralized consensus mechanism that requires network participants to make an effort to solve an arbitrary mathematical puzzle so that no one can fool the system.
Proof of work is widely used in cryptocurrency mining, to verify transactions and mine new tokens.
With proof-of-work, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies transactions can be processed peer-to-peer in a secure manner without the need for a trusted third party.
Proof of work at scale requires a huge amount of energy, which only increases as more miners join the network.
Proof of Stake (POS) was one of several new consensus mechanisms created as an alternative to proof of work.
A hard fork refers to a radical change in the protocol of a blockchain network that effectively results in two branches, one following the previous protocol and one following the new version.
Lightning Network is a technological solution designed to solve the problem of transaction speed in the Bitcoin blockchain by introducing off-chain transactions.
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miner is a computerized device or hardware that uses an ASIC solely to mine bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.
Blockchain is a type of shared database that differs from a regular database in how it stores information; Blockchains store data in blocks, which are then linked to each other using cryptography.
Cryptocurrency is a form of digital asset based on a network distributed over a large number of computers. This decentralized structure allows them to exist outside the control of governments and central authorities.
Decentralized applications, also known as “dApps” or “dapps”, are digital applications that run on a network of blockchain computers instead of relying on a single computer.