<p>If the mathematical problems done by miners had value by themselves beyond blockchain purposes, a miner could work on two parallel blocks at the same time to try to pull a double spend, without losing much money with electricity, bandwidth and other mining costs.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-07T03:08:45.133Z
2018-03-07T03:08:45.133Z
Osias Jota
<p>How does proof of work function?</p>

<p>Why does the "work" in proof of need to have zero utility for the economics of the cryptocurrency to be viable.</p>

<proof-of-work>
The "work" in proof of work
Marcus Scipio
# The "work" in proof of work

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-07)

How does proof of work function?

Why does the "work" in proof of need to have zero utility for the economics of the cryptocurrency to be viable.

**Tags:** proof-of-work


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-03-07. Score: 2

If the mathematical problems done by miners had value by themselves beyond blockchain purposes, a miner could work on two parallel blocks at the same time to try to pull a double spend, without losing much money with electricity, bandwidth and other mining costs.


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