What Is Proof-of-Work (PoW)?

Cryptocurrencies are different from fiat money because fiat money is typically regulated by a central authority, such as a bank. With cryptocurrencies, there is no central authority that regulates them.

PoW allows many cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum to work without the help of a government or company.

This is how you make sure that a coin or token isn’t used more than once in a transaction, this helps to avoid any problems with transactions. This process is important for adding new blocks to Bitcoin’s blockchain and verifying transactions.

When a cryptocurrency miner completes PoW for a new block, the network approves it.

Miners are rewarded with BTC if they solve the PoW. In the case of Bitcoin, cryptocurrency miners are tasked with the objective of creating a hash that matches Bitcoin’s current target.

This consists of a hash which is frontloaded with multiple zeros. The probability of achieving a hash that has several zeros at the front is rather low, the person who achieves the goal first earns rewards.

PoW makes it difficult to tamper with any part of the blockchain because any alteration would require editing all blocks.