Blockchain, DLT Technology, Mining and Consensus Protocols explained with 50 questions and answers (5).

16. Will miners find sotware and hardware robust enough to solve complex mathematical challenges instantaneously?

Adjustable difficulty. The PoW difficulty is automatically adjusted to keep the average block generation time within 10 minutes. This means that miners have to constantly upgrade their hardware and software to stay competitive.

17.  What is the relationship between Mining and the Consensus Protocol?

The consensus protocol is a set of rules that defines how nodes in a blockchain network reach agreement on the state of the blockchain.

Mining is a type of consensus protocol used in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In mining, nodes compete with each other to solve a complex mathematical problem. The first node to solve the problem wins the right to add a new block to the blockchain and receives a reward in bitcoins.

The relationship between mining and the consensus protocol is as follows:

• Mining is a mechanism to implement the consensus protocol. Mining is used to verify transactions and add them to the blockchain.
• The consensus protocol defines the rules that miners must follow. The consensus protocol defines how the miner who wins the right to add a new block to the blockchain is selected.

The main advantages of mining as a consensus protocol are:

• Security: Mining helps protect the network against attacks and
• Decentralization: Mining is a decentralized process, meaning that no single entity controls the network.
• Scalability: Mining is a scalable consensus protocol, which means that it can work with a large number of nodes.

However, mining also has some disadvantages:

• Energy consumption: Mining consumes a large amount of
• Centralization of mining: Mining has become increasingly centralized, with a small number of large mining groups controlling a large portion of the network’s hashing power.
• Environmental impact: Mining energy consumption has a significant environmental impact.

18.  Who promotes the consensus protocol?

The Bitcoin consensus protocol is not promoted by a single entity or individual, but is maintained and improved by a global community of developers, researchers, users and miners. This decentralized community works collaboratively to propose, discuss and implement changes to the protocol.

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19.  On whom does the protocol depend?

Bitcoin’s consensus protocol does not depend on any central authority or government. Instead, its operation and evolution depend on the consensus of the Bitcoin community. Any changes to the protocol must be approved by a majority of the participants in the network.

20.  Who takes the first blockchain step after Nakamoto’s paper?

The Bitcoin blockchain has no single starting point. It was started organically by Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, but has since grown and evolved through the contributions of thousands of people on the network.

21.  Who promotes consensus on the rules?

Consensus on the Bitcoin protocol rules is achieved through a decentralized process called Proof of Work (PoW). In this process, miners compete against each other to solve complex mathematical problems. The first miner to solve a problem adds a new block to the blockchain and receives a reward in bitcoins. The other nodes in the network verify the new block and, if valid, accept it into the blockchain. This process ensures that all nodes in the network agree on the current state of the blockchain and the rules that govern it.

22.  How is the protocol agreed upon?

Bitcoin’s protocol is consensual through a combination of mechanisms, including:

• Proof of Work (PoW): As mentioned above, PoW is the primary mechanism for reaching consensus on the state of the blockchain.
• Consensus rules: The Bitcoin protocol defines a set of rules that all nodes in the network must follow. These rules include the way in which

blocks are created and validated, how mining rewards are distributed and how network forks are handled.

• Node software: Bitcoin’s node software implements the consensus rules and is what allows nodes to communicate with each other and reach agreement on the state of the network.
• Inter-node communication: Bitcoin nodes communicate with each other to share information about the blockchain, verify transactions and propagate new blocks.

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