A miner is an individual or entity that participates in a blockchain network by using computational power to solve complex mathematical problems, which are necessary to validate and confirm transactions. In proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin, miners compete to solve these cryptographic puzzles, and the first one to find a solution adds the new block of transactions to the blockchain. For their efforts, miners are rewarded with newly created cryptocurrency coins (block rewards) and transaction fees included in the block. Mining is essential for maintaining the security and integrity of the blockchain, as it ensures that transactions are verified and recorded in a decentralized manner. The process of mining requires significant computational resources and energy, which helps protect the network from attacks and ensures that adding new blocks remains a challenging task.
