What is Proof of Work (PoW)?

Proof of Work (PoW) is a consensus mechanism used by blockchain networks to achieve distributed consensus. It is the original consensus mechanism, first used by Bitcoin in 2009. In PoW, network participants, called miners, compete to solve a computationally intensive puzzle. The first miner to solve the puzzle gets to add a new block of transactions to the blockchain and is rewarded with newly minted cryptocurrency.

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How does Bitcoin impact the environment?

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