2 min read

What is a Hash Rate?

What is a Hash Rate?
Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin / Unsplash

Mining crypto is a source of income for many. Miners are employed and paid by crypto platforms. The first person who cracks a transaction gets a reward. Proof-of-work is normally based on the hash rate.

Understanding a Hash Rate

What is a hash rate? It is the full computational power used to process transactions during mining. It is also a measurement of how fast they solve these transactions. A hash rate is immediately generated when miners solve a complex mathematical puzzle or equation in a blockchain.

Hence platforms can know who solved the equation first. High hash rates tend to increase the security of a blockchain transaction, making it less susceptible to hacking. A hash utilizes different hashing algorithms and appears as an alphanumeric code.

How Does a Hash Rate Work?

When miners submit transactions, they get a different hash rate, and the added transactions are added to the blockchain, preventing any duplication or repetition of the same transaction.

Cryptocurrencies with more miners tend to have a high hash rate and push the value of crypto. It is mostly due to the high competition, complex transactions as the blockchain are longer, and low network disruption.

Bitcoin, however, sets a lifetime cap on its mined crypto. It helps mitigate high hash rates, which, although advantageous, might cripple the mining process.

How is a Hash Rate Measured?

The number of calculations per second measures the hash rate. It can be in thousands, millions, billions, trillions, etc. Most crypto platforms utilize the following to symbolize this rate.

KH/s (Kilo) meaning hashes per second in thousands.

MH/s (mega) meaning hashes per second in millions.

GH/s (Giga) meaning hashes per second in billions.

TH/s (tera) meaning hashes per second in trillions.

It all depends on the miner's computational power and the crypto platform. Different crypto platforms utilize different algorithms.

How is Mining Carried Out?

Mining technically entails solving complex puzzles and computational programs on a blockchain. As a miner, you require advanced computers with high power and the necessary expertise.

Phones and tablets are not suitable for mining as they are prone to battery drainage. Certainly, these gadgets cant perform straining functions such as mining. That is why Apple banned mining on iOS devices and prohibits third-party mining apps.

Merits of Mining

  • Listed for you are just a few benefits of mining.
  • Mining crypto allows you to have full control of your digital money, unlike fiat money, governed by several regulatory bodies.
  • You get rewards from various platforms for mining crypto. They can be in the form of cash or crypto itself.
  • Compared to fiat money, you will incur fewer transaction fees and costs with crypto.

Demerits of Mining

  • High energy and time consumption during mining, not to mention you require a lot of resources to conduct the whole process.
  • Hackers are also all over, making it easy to lose your hard-earned crypto.

Conclusion

A hash rate has taken crypto mining to a whole new level. Tracing the winner is easy peasy, plus the processes are more transparent.