Bitcoin Mining
The process of Bitcoin mining involves a network of distributed nodes, some of which are designated as “miners.” When Bob creates a purchase request for Lisa, he broadcasts the request message to all the connected nodes in his network. Each miner in the network then receives multiple messages from multiple vendors at any given time.
Block Formation
The miner combines these messages into a single block. The block is then time-stamped to ensure the chronological order of the messages cannot be modified without affecting the block’s hash value. After forming the block, the miner creates a hash of the block using the SHA-256 hash function described earlier.
Security of Transactions
The resulting hash of the block is considered secure from tampering due to the nature of the hash function. If any third party modifies the contents of the block, the hash would become invalid. This secure hash value is used to secure all the transactions in the network, ensuring the validity and integrity of each transaction on the blockchain.
Message Broadcasting When Bob creates a purchase request for Lisa, the message is broadcasted to all nodes connected in the network.
Combining Multiple Messages into a Block The miners in the network combine the multiple messages received into a single block.
Securing the Block through Hashing The miner creates a hash of the block using the SHA-256 hash function. This ensures that if any third party tries to modify the contents of the block, the hash would become invalid, and the messages within the block are secure from tampering.
Timestamping the Messages Each message in the block is time-stamped to ensure that the chronological order of the messages cannot be modified without affecting the hash value of the block.