A quick look at Cryptocurrency Mining: Proof of Work

Abstract

Cryptocurrency, a name heard in the news as well as social media. But what exactly is cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital asset on the blockchain, which means, that it is not controlled by an entity or an institution. Therefore, users of cryptocurrency enjoy financial freedom. But how are most of the transactions related to cryptocurrency processed on the blockchain? There is a term called proof of work as well as proof of stake. This paper has focused on the proof of work aspect of processing the cryptocurrency transactions, also specified the currencies that support the proof of work consensus. It also distinguishes between the two types of hardware that can be used to mine the currencies, and also using the past one-year data recorded by the author to analyze whether mining can be fruitful with any hardware in the future. Also, commenting on which type hardware can yield the best ROI. This type of thorough research on PoW consensus has not been found, so this paper is the first of its kind. A prediction has also been made using Python, whether mining in the near future will be of great potential or not. Also highlighted why mining revenue fluctuates.