Mining is the original way to profit from cryptocurrency. Before it’s officially added to the blockchain, every transaction in proof-of-work is just a “block”. Miners help add the block to the blockchain by doing work, or using “hashpower” to solve the encryption.
Miners will only add the block after verification of the encrypted hash. Many miners compete to solve the hash first, and the winner receives portions of a new coin as a reward. Miners use this method to “mint” coins and release it into the network.