What is proof of work?
A consensus mechanism where computers compete to solve a hard arithmetic puzzle, and the winner gets to add the next block.
Miners repeatedly hash candidate blocks until one produces a result below a target. The work is deliberately wasteful: it has no value except that it is provably expensive, which is what makes rewriting history costly. Difficulty adjusts automatically so blocks keep arriving at a target interval however much hardware joins.
Why it matters: it is the mechanism securing Bitcoin, and its energy consumption is the most common criticism of crypto generally. The counter-argument is that the energy cost is the security. Both points are real; which weighs more is a judgement, not a fact.
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