user31052: I am very new to the world of cryptocurrencies (I first read deeply about them today) and I've just discovered the concept of mining. Everything that I've read so far applies to Bitcoin but I know that there are a lot of different cryptocurrencies. So I was wondering if mining also exists for other currencies.
Is mining something specific of bitcoin or is it possible to mine different cryptocurrencies? If so, is the process different than the one used to mine bitcoins? 

user30884: Earlier cryptocurrency systems (which predated Botcoin) relied on a central clearinghouse to prevent fraudulent transactions, such as double-spending.  One of the objectives of Bitcoin was decentralization.  To prevent double-spending without a central clearninghouse, blocks of transactions need to be mined.  The process of mining requires a significant amount of computational effort to be expended by the miner.  Other nodes on the network will not recognize a mined block of transactions without this proof of work.

user85: Cryptocurrencies fall into three broad categories:
1) Centralized/counterparty cryptocurrencies are classic cryptocurrencies that are run by some kind of central authority. These can use the same methods that traditional banking ledgers use and aren't particularly interesting technically.
2) Public ledger cryptocurrencies that use proof of work to solve the double spend problem without a central authority. These cryptocurrencies have to incentivize people to provide the proof of work they need to remain secure and typically use mining to do it. Bitcoin was the first currency of this type.
3) Distributed agreement cryptocurrencies that use consensus protocols to solve the double spend problem without a central authority. These cryptocurrencies don't require large amounts of computation to secure their transactions and generally don't use mining. XRP was the first currency of this type.

31052: <p>I am very new to the world of cryptocurrencies (I first read deeply about them today) and I've just discovered the concept of mining. Everything that I've read so far applies to Bitcoin but I know that there are a lot of different cryptocurrencies. So I was wondering if mining also exists for other currencies.</p>

<p>Is mining something specific of bitcoin or is it possible to mine different cryptocurrencies? If so, is the process different than the one used to mine bitcoins? </p>
 30884: <p>Earlier cryptocurrency systems (which predated Botcoin) relied on a central clearinghouse to prevent fraudulent transactions, such as double-spending.  One of the objectives of Bitcoin was decentralization.  To prevent double-spending without a central clearninghouse, blocks of transactions need to be mined.  The process of mining requires a significant amount of computational effort to be expended by the miner.  Other nodes on the network will not recognize a mined block of transactions without this proof of work.</p>
 85: <p>Cryptocurrencies fall into three broad categories:</p>

<p>1) Centralized/counterparty cryptocurrencies are classic cryptocurrencies that are run by some kind of central authority. These can use the same methods that traditional banking ledgers use and aren't particularly interesting technically.</p>

<p>2) Public ledger cryptocurrencies that use proof of work to solve the double spend problem without a central authority. These cryptocurrencies have to incentivize people to provide the proof of work they need to remain secure and typically use mining to do it. Bitcoin was the first currency of this type.</p>

<p>3) Distributed agreement cryptocurrencies that use consensus protocols to solve the double spend problem without a central authority. These cryptocurrencies don't require large amounts of computation to secure their transactions and generally don't use mining. XRP was the first currency of this type.</p>
