What is the Bitcoin consensus mechanism? A detailed introduction to the principles of the Bitcoin consensus mechanism

Bitcoin Consensus Mechanism The Bitcoin network uses the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism to ensure that all nodes agree on transaction records. This mechanism requires miners to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to verify transactions and create new blocks. The characteristics of the proof-of-work mechanism include security, decentralization and fairness, but it also has the disadvantages of energy intensity and transaction fee fluctuations.

Bitcoin consensus mechanism: proof of work

The Bitcoin consensus mechanism is to ensure that all nodes in the Bitcoin network A mechanism for agreeing on transaction records. It's called Proof of Work (PoW), and it's a computationally intensive mechanism that requires miners to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to verify transactions.

Proof-of-work principle:

• Hash function: A hash function is a cryptographic function that converts Data is converted into fixed-size digest values. This digest value is called a hash value.
• Target Hash: The network will set a target hash based on the current network difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the harder it is to find the target hash.
• Mining: Miners use specialized hardware (such as ASICs) to guess a valid hash value. If the hash found is less than or equal to the target hash, the block is considered valid.
• Broadcast: Miners broadcast valid blocks to other nodes on the network.
• Validation: Other nodes verify the validity of the block, including checking the hash and transaction validity.
• Accept: If a majority of nodes accept the block, it will be added to the blockchain.

Proof-of-Work Features:

• Security: Solving puzzles is computationally intensive, so attacking the network The cost is high.
• Decentralization: Anyone can participate in mining, so the network is not controlled by any single entity.
• Fairness: Each miner’s chance of finding a valid block is directly proportional to its computing power.
• Energy intensive: Mining Bitcoin requires a lot of electricity, which can have an impact on the environment.

Advantages of proof-of-work:

• Ensure network security and decentralization.
• Fairly distribute mining rewards.
• Create transaction records that are not easily tampered with.

Disadvantages of Proof of Work:

• Energy intensive and may have a negative impact on the environment.
• Mining difficulty will be constantly adjusted, causing transaction fees to fluctuate.
• As time goes by, competition will intensify and ordinary users may not be able to participate in mining.

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