Proof of Work
Proof of Work (Pow) is a consensusConsensus is a mechanism to achieve the necessary agreement ... More model in blockchainA blockchain is a shared digital ledger, or a continually up... More technology that requires miners to solve computationally difficult math problems in order to add new blocks onto the blockchain. These functions produce data that is used to validate that a substantial amount of work has been carried out, thus the name “proof of work.” Solving these equations will typically result in the winning minerA miner is an individual or organization that "mines" crypto... More claiming a block rewardA block reward is the reward a miner gets for solving the cr... More by adding it as a first transaction on the blockBlocks hold batches of valid transactions that are hashed an... More. Proving these functions are often time-consuming and computationally expensive, sometimes this cost of mining can even outweigh the price of the reward, though this is not common.
The main proof-of-work based cryptocurrencies include BitcoinThe term "Bitcoin" can either refer to Bitcoin the network, ... More and Litecoin. Ethereum moved from a Proof of Work to a Proof of StakeThe Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus model was proposed in 201... More consensus model (starting in 2022), in order to solve energy consumption considerations and scalability issues.
Note: These are non-technical definitions meant for a general audience and should not be used as legal definition