Welcome to the exciting world of Bitcoin mining! This simplified simulator offers a hands-on experience using sample data to demonstrate how real miners operate.
Select Bitcoin transactions to add to your block, generate random nonces, and try to outpace other miners (other visitors of this website) in mining blocks.
This is the history of all mined blocks in the simulation. In real Bitcoin mining, blocks are mined approximately every 10 minutes and are stored across multiple nodes, not just in a single database as in this simulation.
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Welcome to the Bitcoin Mining Simulator
Please choose your miner identification:
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🚀 Before You Start
If you are new to Bitcoin, it's recommended to go through the Bitcoin Basics game-like interactions to understand how Bitcoin works. This foundation will enhance your experience with the mining simulator.
Mining is not about solving a complex mathematical problem but rather about brute-forcing a nonce in hopes of getting lucky enough to find a successful hash. It's all about trial and error.
This is how to mine in this simulation:
Choose Transactions: Start by selecting transactions from the available list that you want to include in the next block. These transactions are waiting to be confirmed and included in the blockchain. ✅ Select the checkboxes next to each transaction you want to include.
Generate a Nonce: Hit the 🔀 button to generate a "nonce" (a random number) that will be used to hash the block. The goal is to find a nonce that results in a valid block hash.
Brute Force the Hash: Mining requires computational power. Here, we simulate that by trying different nonces until we find one that makes the hash of the block start with a certain number of zeros. This is known as "proof of work."
Check the Result: If the hash of the block, shown in the "Resulting Hash" field, is valid (i.e., meets the difficulty target), a green label will appear saying "Valid block found". If not, you'll see a red label indicating the block is not valid, and you can try again.
🔒 What is a Hash?
A hash is a function that converts an input (or 'message') into a fixed-size string of bytes. The output (the 'hash') is typically a 'digest' that represents concisely the original input. In Bitcoin and this simulator, the SHA-256 hashing function is used, which is a one-way function. This means it is computationally infeasible to reverse-engineer the original input from the hash output, ensuring that data can be securely and verifiably stored on the blockchain. This property is crucial for maintaining the integrity and security of the blockchain.
Try it yourself - you can hash any input:
🌐 Compete with Others
The simulator allows you to compete against other virtual miners (visitors on this website). The faster you can generate a valid hash, the more likely you are to "mine" the block before anyone else.
🔍 Why Does This Matter?
Mining ensures fairness while keeping the Bitcoin network stable and secure. For this reason, miners are rewarded with newly created Bitcoins and transaction fees. Proof of Work (PoW) is crucial in digital money, serving as a bridge between the digital (information) and physical (energy) worlds. Without this link, we'd be in a realm where verification is impossible without relying on others' trust (e.g., as in Proof of Stake), effectively circling back to the flaws of fiat money.
Happy mining! 🎉
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🔢 Hash Input
In this simplified Bitcoin mining simulation, the hash input includes:
The hash of the previous block
The transactions you've chosen
The nonce you've generated
Resulting Hash:
💡 In real Bitcoin, the block header for mining includes:
Version: Indicates the version number of the block's format.
Previous Block Hash: The hash of the block that came before this one, linking the current block to the chain.
Merkle Root: Essentially a single fingerprint for all the transactions included in this block, crucial for the integrity of the blockchain.
Time: The current timestamp when the block is created.
Nonce: A random value used to vary the block header to achieve a hash under the target.
This setup ensures that all data linked to transactions is accurately recorded and verifiable.