The foundational concept behind Bitcoin, and many other cryptocurrencies, is the proof of work algorithm. It is by this method that someone can prove they have been involved in some kind of computational effort. It’s a mind-bending concept and is the reason why warehouses all over the world are filled with powerful applicationspecific integrated circuits, or Asics, all whirring away, searching for a meaningless and arbitrary string, which itself satisfies an equally meaningless and arbitrary condition. So while the answer will unlock a new block, it’s the fact, as already mentioned, that you can prove you’ve carried out the work that matters.

Attached to all the blocks in the Bitcoin blockchain is a short string of data. This is called the ‘nonce’. It’s an interesting word, and is said, probably incorrectly, to be a contraction of ‘number used once’. In any event, the Asics, or whatever kind of mining equipment you’re using, are searching for that elusive string. There’s no easy way to find this nonce, other than by cycling through random strings, say a trillion times, until you hit the correct one. Once you manage it, the block will be ‘solved’ and you’ll get paid in Bitcoin. This solved block is then added to the chain, and the process begins all over again.