Blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system. A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain.

Bitcoin mining is done to record current bitcoin transactions in blocks, which are then added to a blockchain, or the record of past transactions. Bitcoin miners use software to solve transaction-related algorithms that check bitcoin transactions. In return, miners are awarded a certain number of bitcoin per block.