@Perfect agent,
I haven't read up on this specifically, I could probably google it right now and pretend to really know it but I'll you what mining does as I picked up in bits and pieces.
Ok. Thank you for being honest about it.
First, more miners secures the network as more block chains are created.
Incorrect. More miners do not create more blockchains. There is only one blockchain per cyptocurrency (that can be forked, though miners will only see one blockchain).
Second, more owners increase the number and frequency of the confirmations.
Incorrect, in the long term. The confirmations occur at a roughly steady rate, though they may occur faster or slower in between difficulty adjustments. But Bitcoin, for example, will always tend toward 10 minute confirmations, always has, always will.
Third, miners are needed as people mine a portion of their CPU/GPU cycles are taken and used to create the next block chain, so without miners bitcoin can't exist. This is why Bitcoin eats the energy of a nuclear powerplant?
Mostly incorrect. Without miners, Bitcoin can't exist, but that has nothing to do with how much power is used. The only reason you would have so much power consumption is because it helps reduce the likelihood of a 51% attack. Also, miners don't just generate blockchains.
This is all I know, but I'd love to hear additional things from you. From my point of view, bitcoin et al are financial instruments, I have a more theoretical mind and small things I find tedious and to me have little to no value. Like, now does bitcoin work, it makes little difference to me as long as I know its secure and it works and I know that there is nothing in existence the govt can't confiscate and make their own.
If you're just gonna look at this as a financial instrument, by all means do so (wisely, which you haven't, to be honest). You can't create a coin without knowing how it works. You set values for time between difficulty adjustments and all that without even knowing what that is for!
So why would I waste memory space learning useless things which I cannot change and really help me with nothing. It would have helped me with nothing when launching my coin as the miners you get is almost pure luck at this time unless you can hype your coin or advertise it.
So I try to focus on things of important and things I can change, like features for example or how to make a better coin, how to make a more popular coin, things I can alter cause no matter how much I learn about Bitcoin's functions I will never alter the way it's mined since a phd mathematician or a team of them are much smarter than me and I'm sure it was done right cause in my mind, govt or not, this was done with a purpose.
You need to know
why things are done. Just like my toothpaste example, you need to know what toothpaste is and what it is for if you're going to found a toothpaste company, and the same is with creating a coin.
Lol, there's no real way to track it yet which is why bitcoin has been use to launder billions if mafia money.
And this is another sign the govt is behind this.
Think about what you just said for a second.
People have made millions yet the govt hasn't even brought up the tax issue.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/the-tax-man-cometh-for-your-bitcoins-20130618