Proof of Work (PoW)

A consensus mechanism used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain by requiring network participants called miners to expend computational effort to solve complex mathematical puzzles, with the winner receiving a reward and having their block added to the chain.

What You Need To Know

Some features of Proof of work include renewable energy use-cases like taking flared gas to power machines, though does still have high energy consumption, security is extremely high due to high computational difficulty, and scalability can be limited on the main chain.