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Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency Mining — channeling your inner Tolkien dwarf

Crypto-mining, in simple terms

The Startup
Published in
3 min readJul 1, 2019

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BBitcoin, Bytecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Vertcoin, Electroneum, Dogecoin and whatever other ___coin is released in the future all structure themselves around the concept of mining.

Cryptocurrency mining does not involve swinging a pickaxe in a poorly-lit, claustrophobia-inducing mineshaft. It does not require years of tutelage under the expert dwarf miners of Erebor. Quite the opposite — cryptocurrency mining can be conducted from the comfort and safety of your own home. Hell, you could make some deviled eggs, garnish them, take your dog, Lucy, for a walk around the block, and proceed to eat those deviled eggs all while you mine for Bitcoin.

Here’s how it works at a simplified level:

Every time a cryptocurrency transaction takes place, a miner is responsible for ensuring its authenticity and updating the blockchain with the transaction.

To do this, miners compete with each other to solve really complicated math problems. Imagine if the worst multivariable calculus problem you ever had in school was bit by a radioactive spider and had all six Infinity Stones. That would get you to around how much of a fight these cryptographic problems…

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Thomas Mallick
The Startup

🚀 SRE dev @CapitalOneTech. @VanderbiltU alum. 🦖