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Miners
In crypto world, miners are the numerous individuals from all over the world which participate in the upkeep of cryptographic networks validating transactions.
On Proof of Work blockchains like Bitcoin, mining is crucial. But many recent blockchains employ alternate consensus processes, such as Proof of Stake, and do not require or permit mining.
If miners successfully add a new block to the blockchain, they are rewarded with fresh coins. In order to cooperate, miners usually form so-called “mining pools”, where the reward is divided according to the work contributed by each pool member.