The following is not needed to know to be able to play the game, but provides further background information on crypto-mining.
So what is crypto-mining.......blockchain.......Bitcoin?
Crypto-currencies are digital assets which effectively act as a modern day alternative to cold hard cash! The first (and most widely recognised) is BitCoin which was released in 2009 - the following year the first transaction was undertaken
involving physical goods when someone accepted an offer of 10k BitCoins to purchase 2 pizzas. At the time, those BitCoins were worth about $30..... at their peak (in January 2021) those coins were worth over $400m!! Aside from
the obvious non-physical existence, crypto-currencies have many unique features to standard currencies. For a start, they are decentralised - so central banks and governments have no control - as opposed to traditional (or Fiat
currencies) where supply is managed (fancy a slice quantitative easing with that pizza?). The principle notion of crypto-currencies are that they are essentially complex algorithms which are encrypted via digital ledgers (known
as blocks).
Ah, so block mining then.....
Block mining is the process through which the algorithms are validated, thus adding a new block to the ledger (hence creation of the block chain). There are many advantages to digital currencies, primarily that each coin can be easily
validated by the publicly available registers. This also limits the opportunity for fraud as it is far more complex (almost impossible) to 'fake' and append to an existing chain. There have been high profile criticisms and concerns,
one being the ability for organised crime to 'hide' wealth or as seen with ransomware attacks be a form of payments which is mor difficult to track. Valuations are also far more volatile so whilst there is a huge market looking
to profit from mining, validating or trading, they are more akin to the risks associated with stocks and other tradeable instruments than their more stable counterparts.
