This process is what is commonly called mining. It involves four separate pieces of data: a hash of the transactions on that block, the hash of the previous block, the time, and a number called the nonce. The nonce is a random number that is separate from the transactions that are set out on that block. So, a miner will take these four variables and hope that the hash output will meet the necessary requirement of the number of starting zeros. That output is called the golden hash. The miner can start with a nonce of 0, then try a nonce of 1, then a nonce of 2, and so on. The more nonces that a miner can test, the more chances the miner has to find the golden hash that meets the requirements and will allow him to add that block to the Bitcoin blockchain.

1. Proof of DeFi
2. Proof of Stake
3. Proof of Work
4. Proof of Nothing