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Nothing is being decrypted by mining. Mining is trying to generate a valid block which hashes to a low enough value. The only purpose of it is to be time consu
by shawabawa3 14y ago
Nothing is being decrypted by mining. Mining is trying to generate a valid block which hashes to a low enough value.
The only purpose of it is to be time consuming, as the idea is you can't altar historical data because it would be too time consuming to "catch up" with the main blockchain
- edwintorok 14y agoMore details here: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Proof_of_work https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Proof_of_work https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#How_does_the_proof-of-work_system_help_secure_Bitcoin.3F https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#How_does_the_proof-of-work_sy... Cracking passwords would require finding data which hashes to an exactly specified value, Bitcoin's proof of work requires finding data which hashes to 'any hash with the given rare property' (given number of leading zeroes, smaller than the target)