Bitcoin mining is the process of adding blocks and transactions to the blockchain ledger, thus creating new bitcoin by solving computational puzzles. These are most commonly done by ASICs as they are the most efficient at Bitcoin mining, through their exceptional hashrate. Bitcoin operates under a PoW (Proof of Work) mechanism that uses energy in exchange for running ASICs and securing the Bitcoin network. Individual miners may choose to pool their hashrate together in a mining pool to increase the odds of of collectively finding a block amongst them. This aims to turn the block reward they receive as a miner into more of a consistent income rather than a lottery system of finding a block as an individual.