Coming into and learning about the cryptospace can be a challenge with having to learn technical information and terminology such as "hashrate."

The hashrate of a blockchain network is actually very important on proof-of-work consensuses, so it is something very basic and very important.

What is "Hashrate"?

Hashrate, also known as the hashing power, is the measurement for how many times a computer can compute a cryptographic equation. The goal is to find the correct hash - verifying the authenticity of a transaction.

A hash is an alphanumerical string of text that has a fixed length. Each time a computer tries to solve a cryptographic equation using blockchain software it puts out a hash. This is why hashrate is measured in hashes per second (h/s).

The short of it is that a number called a "nonce" that needs to be solved for. Finding the correct nonce for a block solves the cryptographic equation which verifies the authenticity of the transactions on a block. The problem that is posed is that it take a LOT of trial and error to find the correct nonce for a block.

Illustrating the Difficulty