> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.mineglyph.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.mineglyph.xyz/getting-started/how-it-works.md).

# How it works

A blockchain contract cannot read a wallet's history — Solidity only sees current state, recent block hashes, the block number, and the timestamp. So Mine Glyph computes hashrate **off-chain** and proves it **on-chain** with a signature.

## The flow, end to end

```
┌──────────┐  reads history   ┌──────────┐  EIP-712 sign   ┌──────────┐  submit sig  ┌──────────────┐
│ Indexer  │ ───────────────► │  Signer  │ ──────────────► │ Frontend │ ───────────► │ GlyphMining  │
│ off-chain│  age/tx/vol/hold │ off-chain│ (wallet, hr, …) │ (your UI)│              │  (contract)  │
└──────────┘                  └──────────┘                 └──────────┘              │ verify + mint│
                                                                                     └──────────────┘
```

1. **Indexer** reads your wallet's history from the chain and computes your hashrate with the public log-scaled formula.
2. **Signer** signs a message — `(wallet, hashrate, epoch, nonce, expiry)` — with a trusted key, using EIP-712 typed data bound to the specific contract and chain.
3. **You** submit that signed attestation to the `GlyphMining` contract from your own wallet.
4. **The contract** verifies the signature (`ecrecover == signer`), checks it isn't expired or replayed, then records your hashrate and starts streaming rewards.

The contract **never trusts a hashrate that did not arrive through a valid signature.** A forged or edited number is rejected on-chain.

## What you actually do

Connecting your wallet is **free** — it is not a transaction. Mining involves two kinds of on-chain transactions that you sign and pay gas for:

* **Start mining** — one transaction that registers your hashrate. It charges a small one-time [registration fee](/protocol/fees-and-cooldown.md). After this, rewards accrue **every second automatically** with no further transactions.
* **Claim** — a transaction that mints your accrued GLYPH to your wallet. Subject to a [claim cooldown](/protocol/fees-and-cooldown.md).

## Why the epoch snapshot matters

Your metrics are measured against the **start of the current epoch**, not the live moment. This prevents last-minute activity from inflating a score — you can't spam transactions right before registering and instantly rank up. Within an epoch your score is deterministic.

## The trust boundary

The only trusted off-chain component is the **signer**. It recomputes your hashrate server-side on every request and never signs a number supplied by a client. If the signer key were ever compromised, the protocol owner can rotate it on-chain. Everything else — reward math, the hard cap, replay protection — is enforced by the contract itself. See [Security model](/security/security-model.md).


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