Definition
A miner participates in proof-of-work block production. The term can refer to an operator, a mining business or the hardware carrying out hashing work. It is distinct from a full node, whose essential role is independent validation; one entity may perform both roles, but they are not identical.
How Miners Participate
A solo miner can build and submit its own candidate blocks. In a pool, participants usually contribute computational work under the pool’s coordination and receive payouts according to its rules. Finding a block is probabilistic, so a miner’s hash-rate share affects expected results rather than guaranteeing a particular return. Other nodes still decide whether a submitted block satisfies the protocol.
Key Considerations
Miners may select which eligible transactions they include, but they cannot create valid signatures for someone else’s funds or exceed the permitted issuance rules. Their economic results depend on difficulty, fees, asset prices and operating costs. Pool participation can reduce payout variability but adds operational dependencies. The term miner is not generally the correct name for a proof-of-stake validator.