Bitcoin (and mining) explained. Bitcoin solves the Byzantine Generals Problem.
Bitcoin (and mining) explained. Bitcoin solves the Byzantine Generals Problem. Not the blockchain. The Byzantine Generals Problem is an interesting story about generals and armies of the Byzantine empire who need to plan a co-ordinated takeover of an enemy city. It is an intuitive, easy-to-understand analogy for a distributed computing problem where consensus or agreement needs to be achieved between participants on a network where there is no trust between these participants.
Bitcoin is the first solid solution to this problem and allows a system or network of participants to achieve agreements on things such as payments, without the need for any central authorizing entity (such as a bank). Bitcoin achieves decentralized consensus using an algorithm called Proof of Work. This video provides a simple but effective overview of what bitcoin mining entails, and how mining underpins the achievement of decentralized consensus.