Proof of Work (PoW) is the original blockchain consensus mechanism, made famous by Bitcoin. Miners compete to solve computationally expensive puzzles to validate transactions and add blocks to the chain. The difficulty automatically adjusts to maintain consistent block times.
Cryptocurrency mining is the process of validating blockchain transactions and adding new blocks by solving computationally intensive mathematical puzzles. Miners are rewarded with newly created cryptocurrency. Bitcoin mining has evolved from home CPUs to industrial ASIC farms consuming gigawatts of power.
Solidity is the primary programming language for writing Ethereum smart contracts. It is a statically-typed, contract-oriented language with syntax influenced by JavaScript and C++. It powers virtually all DeFi protocols, NFT contracts, and DAOs on Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains.