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this is a pretty simple question - I understand that projects can be built on the Ethereum blockchain. I have tried doing a bunch of Googling, but can't seem to figure out who mines these projects.

For example, if I were to build my own smart contract system using the Ethereum protocol, who would confirm the blocks when transactions take place? Is this shared across the entire Ethereum platform, or would the incentive for miners be a particular token?

Thanks!

Deem
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If it's a private blockchain then you would need the miners from your private network to mine these blocks. You can, of course, open it up for public miners, but I'm not sure how much incentive there would be for them to mine your ethereum chain because it's doubtful they'll want to use that ETH for any computational work on private chain.

Tr1gZer0
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  • I don't entirely follow the last part.. So if the chain is public, they can mine ETH from it but can't use it elsewhere? – Deem Aug 03 '17 at 01:56
  • Yes, the Ethereum mined from your private chain really can't be used outside that chain. For example, when developers create Solidity contracts they generally develop on the Ropsten Test Network (another Ethereum chain) and mine for an initial set of Ethereum (a Faucet can also be used). This ETH can only be used on that Test Net. – Tr1gZer0 Aug 03 '17 at 18:20
  • I see.. Last question - so the ether that's publicly traded on exchanges - where does that come from? – Deem Aug 04 '17 at 03:25
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To complete, I'd say that the nature of a private blockchain is to remain private. If it were mined by anyone else, it would have to be public. So basically you have to mine it.

But if you still want to make public your private blockchain but you do not want to mine it yourself, there are ways to do that. For example, you can create a token on the ethereum blockchain that you give to anyone mining yours as a reward. However note that :

  • It would probably be more expensive than mining it yourself.
  • You would be creating a new cryptocurrency, with all the basic limitations of it (for example, the miners, not you, would master it).
Distic
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