(NewsNation) — Crypto mining is a process used to finalize transactions using cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

The term “mining” refers to how each crypto transaction is completed: computers solving mathematical problems that, when cracked, reveal the cryptocurrency.

This is the way crypto is ratified; a process undertaken by traditional banks for transactions. The difference is the way it is undertaken with cryptocurrency, usually finalizing transactions within minutes, as opposed to days.

Blockchains, which record or track data, have mathematical puzzles inside, according to Fidelity.com, and each must be solved to access the cryptocurrency.

Multiple computers, referred to as nodes, compete to solve the puzzles first. The first to solve the problems receives cryptocurrency as a reward.

This reward reiterates why it is referred to as “crypto mining.”

A more traditional way to think of crypto mining is to consider a treasure chest and something attempting to crack the combination lock to open and win the treasure.