Miners play a crucial role in the distribution of mining rewards within a cryptocurrency network. Essentially, miners are responsible for validating and adding new transactions to the blockchain, the decentralized ledger that records all transactions in the network. To accomplish this, miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles through a process known as proof-of-work (PoW) or other consensus mechanisms, depending on the specific cryptocurrency protocol.

Once a miner successfully solves the puzzle and adds a new block of transactions to the blockchain, they are rewarded with a predetermined number of newly created cryptocurrency coins. This reward serves as an incentive for miners to contribute their computational power and resources to maintain the security and integrity of the network.

The distribution of mining rewards among miners is typically based on a combination of factors, including the miner's contribution of computational power (hash rate) to the network and the specific mining algorithm used by the cryptocurrency. In some cases, mining pools are formed, allowing individual miners to combine their resources and share mining rewards proportionally based on their contributions.

By distributing mining rewards to miners, cryptocurrency networks ensure the ongoing operation and security of the network, as well as the incentivization of participants to maintain and validate the blockchain. This process not only facilitates transaction processing but also helps to sustain the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies by providing a mechanism for consensus and governance.