How are miners rewarded in the Bitcoin network?

Miners are rewarded in the Bitcoin network with newly created bitcoins as an incentive for their efforts in verifying and adding transactions to the blockchain. This process is known as "mining," where miners utilize computational power to solve complex mathematical problems that validate transactions. When a miner successfully solves these problems and adds a new block to the blockchain, they receive a block reward, which consists of newly minted bitcoins.

This block reward is a critical aspect of Bitcoin's supply mechanism, as it introduces new bitcoins into circulation at a controlled rate, ultimately capped at 21 million coins.

While there are transaction fees associated with each transaction included in a block that also contribute to miners' earnings, the primary reward mechanism comes from the issuance of new bitcoins. Other alternatives like receiving fiat currency or trading commissions do not apply to the Bitcoin mining process directly, as miners are not compensated in traditional currency or through trading fees. Thus, the reward model incentivizes miners to maintain network security and integrity through their mining activities.