Bitcoin payment
挖矿就是“做题”， 矿工就是“做题家”。挖矿的过程就是比特币系统出一道数学题，看谁先做对。
比特币交易将验证交易的工作去中心化，靠用户彼此协助验证，而验证过程就是让计算机解出一连串复杂的密码学题目，解完题目、完成验证后，便能将交易双方的钱包地址、交易金额和时间等相关信息新增至新的「区块」中，这整个过程便称为「挖矿」，成功完成验证的「矿工」可获得一定数量的比特币作为奖励。
就像做题家内卷一样，解题难度会随着越来越多人投入挖矿而变难，矿工也需要用更强大的计算机才能成功解题，为了提高运算能力，矿工们会集结各自的计算机运算能力进行共同挖矿，再按照贡献程度进行拆分收益，因此个人矿工已越来越难和专业挖矿组织竞争。
组织聚集处就被称作「矿池」，其通常设在像中国等电费较低廉的国家，而目前全球主要矿池有58%来自中国，挖矿趋势伴随而来的便是能源消耗问题，也传出部分学者与科学家利用公有资源，使用运算效能极强的超级计算机进行挖矿。
By 知乎
DeFi是一个由众多金融服务机器人所组成的全新金融服务网络。
所有的 DeFi协议，本质上都是在提供⼀种⾦融服务，也就是说，是由⾦融服务机器人来提供⾦融服务，类⽐到传统世界⾥，就是⼀家银行给你提供借贷服务，或者⼀家理财公司帮你理财，⼜或者是
⼀家基金公司帮你做投资等等。这些⾦融机器器⼈其实就跟传统世界的⾦融服务公司是⼀样的，不同的是，这些机器器人是自动执⾏，⾃动操作，并且是完全去中⼼化运⾏，由代码组成。
所以，作为⼀个普通⽤户，我们玩DeFi，我们进入DeFi世界，就等同于来到了一个有很多机器人的房间。如果我们想使⽤某种金融服务，包括借贷、交易或者衍⽣品等等，就⾛到其中某⼀个机器⼈
的面前去使⽤它的⾦融服务，那这些机器⼈形成的市场就叫 DeFi。
具象化些，什么是金融服务机器⼈呢？
以Compound为例，Compound是提供抵押借贷的⾦融服务协议，我们称机器人小C。⼩C可以给⼩明提供抵押借贷服务。借贷⼈小明⼿上有⽐特币，假设1个比特币价值1万美元，并且小明认为比特币会涨到10万美元，但是⼩明现在缺钱，怎么办呢？⼩明可以不卖掉比特币，⽽是把⽐特币做抵押借贷，给到⼩C机器人，再获得贷款，可能是6000美元或者是5000美元。
5000美元或6000美元从哪里来呢？从⾦主小红，小红⼿手上有闲置资金。⼩C是机器器⼈，是完全透明公开，去中⼼化的。机器人⼩C跟⼩红说，你把钱放到我这，可以确保绝对安全。如果⼩明不愿意还钱，我就把他的⽐特币卖掉，让你把这笔钱拿回来。通过这样的方式，小红就放⼼且愿意把闲置资⾦给到Compound。
By 知乎
You may have heard of decentralized finance (DeFi). It’s the newest craze to enter the cryptocurrency
world, with billions of dollars having been invested in DeFi products in 2020 alone.
Increasingly, Bitcoin holders are getting involved in DeFi by “locking up” their coins in exchange for tokens that can be used on DeFi platforms.
DeFi products are tools built predominantly on Ethereum
that aim to revolutionize and replace the current methods of borrowing, lending and banking as seen with traditional finance.
The aim of DeFi is to make the world of finance available to all (or to anyone who has an Internet connection).
The majority of DeFi platforms are built on Ethereum. But there are a lot of people who own a lot of Bitcoin
who want to get involved too. So it is becoming increasingly easy for those with Bitcoin to be able to invest in DeFi platforms with their funds.
Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, so it makes sense for things to be moving in a direction that links the asset with DeFi products.
Bitcoin DeFi works by basically allowing Bitcoin—a currency on one blockchain—to run on Ethereum’s very different, separate blockchain.
How? This is where things get a little complex.
You can’t use Bitcoin directly on Ethereum platforms—as mentioned before, the blockchains are different. In order to do so, the Bitcoin needs to be converted into a currency that represents Bitcoin but is really an Ethereum-based token.
2) Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) is the first ERC20 token backed 1:1 to Bitcoin. It’s aiming to bring the representative and new use-cases of Bitcoin into Ethereum blockchain. pic.twitter.com/NtaKbZvsdm
— WBTC (@WrappedBTC) May 23, 2019
Then, the Bitcoin is essentially locked into a smart contract
, (a piece of code that performs instructions to replicate agreements) and can be used on the network. Think of it like a swap.
Why would someone want to put their Bitcoin in Ethereum smart contracts, you might ask, when they could just buy Ethereum tokens directly and get started from there?
One good reason is to make your Bitcoin work for you in the form of passive income. We all know that a lot of people hold onto their Bitcoin as a store of value—not for purchasing things online (as was originally intended) or remittance payments. What are DeFi loans?One of blockchain and cryptocurrency’s great promises is to take tools used by the financial industry and make them available to everyone everywhere. The catch-all term for this revolution in …LearnThe LandscapeMatt HusseySep 3, 2020
Besides, there are many other cryptocurrencies that serve that purpose now, some argue. So when Bitcoin is just sitting there as an investment in the hope that its value will one day skyrocket, why not use it to make money for you in the meantime?
One of the ways to generate passive income with Bitcoin is to utilize a DeFi platform to lend and earn interest with Bitcoin that would otherwise just be sitting around. It works like this: convert the Bitcoin into Ether or directly into Dai (a stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar) and put it in a platform where you could lend it out and receive loan back with interest.
One way of doing this would be to use the MakerDAO platform.
A relatively new concept, there are a handful of companies currently leading this space. They include Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), RenVM, and RSK.
Right now, more Bitcoin than ever before is being sent over to Ethereum; nearly $1 billion worth, as of September 2020. This is undoubtedly due to the rise of DeFi. As the scene has grown in popularity, so have the methods of making Bitcoin run on such platforms.
Companies in the space are reporting record amounts of Bitcoin being converted into ERC-20 tokens.
As long as DeFi is popular, we will continue to see new companies work in this space to provide quick, easy and cheap ways to help Bitcoin work on DeFi platforms.