What is Cryptocurrency Mining?
Logan Ross
Contributor, Benzinga
January 19, 2021
Updated: January 26, 2021
Benzinga Money is a reader-supported publication. We may earn a commission when you click on links in this article. Learn more.
Want to jump straight to the answer? The best crypto platform for most people is definitely eToro.
You may have heard the term mining in relation to Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general – but it isn’t quite obvious what it means in that context.
Mining in the crypto world is the process of keeping blockchain data in check. It involves hard work (done by computers) and results in a slow accumulation of resources – just like mining for minerals.
Anyone can become a miner, but mining is not for everyone. Over 70% of Bitcoin mining happens in China, where dirt cheap electricity makes running mining computers extremely profitable.
Should you become a miner? Or is there a better way to make money from mining?
Why Mine Cryptocurrency?
Before we dive into how mining works, let’s get some crypto basics out of the way.
The 1st important thing to keep in mind is that cryptocurrency transactions are recorded on a blockchain. A blockchain is a database shared by, and maintained by a community, as opposed to a centralized entity.
Blockchain. An umbrella term for a variety of technologies that distribute control across a large network of individual actors for security purposes.
Decentralized. Anything that is not controlled by a single, central entity or group.
Mining is the term used for the process of validating and recording new transactions on a blockchain.
What’s the Incentive?
Validating and recording all the new transactions that come across the network is not an easy task. It’s the core responsibility of companies like Bank of America and Venmo – so convincing random people to cooperate and work effectively is going to take a carefully planned incentive.
The rules of any successful decentralized system must be created in such a way that it is in the best interest of random people around the world to help maintain it.
Satoshi Nakamoto incentivized people to maintain Bitcoin’s blockchain by rewarding them with newly-minted Bitcoin. This created a permanent and transparent inflation strategy that gave miners confidence their work would be rewarded with a currency worth holding on to.
Who Mines Cryptocurrency?
Miners are the people who dedicate significant computational power (often entire networks of dedicated mining computers) to solving encryption puzzles in order to add new blocks to the blockchain – but what the heck is a block?
Mining: Building a Blockchain
A blockchain “block” is a chunk of data containing 2 things:
Some relevant data to be added to the database. (For example, all the bitcoin transactions that occurred within the last 10 minutes.)
The ID of the block before it in the chain.
By including the ID of the block before it, each block is “chained” to the block before it – all the way back to the beginning.
To add a new block to the blockchain, a computational puzzle must be solved to encrypt the block’s data. Mining is the act of solving this puzzle.
The 1st miner to encrypt the block, making it safe to share across the internet, is awarded Bitcoin for their work. The winner shares their results with all the other miners, who verify the encryption is safe and the work is done. This is called “proof of work.”
Once verified by the other miners, the winner securely adds the new block to the existing chain.
The Halvening
You many have heard of the Bitcoin “halvening”. Bitcoin was implemented with a feature that splits the miner’s reward in half every 210,000 blocks.
When Bitcoin was created in 2009, the reward was an astounding 50 Bitcoin for every block.
Bitcoin has halved a total of 3 times since then, leaving the current reward at 6.25 BTC as of May 2020. Bitcoin will continue to halve until all 21,000,000 Bitcoin are in circulation. Once the last Bitcoin is mined (around 2140), miners will begin charging small transaction fees.
Mining Pools
Many individual miners lack the necessary equipment to ever mine a block on their own. To still have a chance at making some profits, they join mining pools.
Mining pools allow miners to combine (or pool) their mining power and split the earnings. Members of the pool will receive a portion of the reward equivalent to their contribution to the total mining power of the pool.
Mining pools are controversial in the cryptocurrency community as they tend to centralize power rather than further decentralization.
Education (like BitDegree!)✗ Difficult to use — private keys, public keys, etc.котировки ethereum x bitcoin заработок ethereum брокеры bitcoin
1000 bitcoin
registration bitcoin хайпы bitcoin bitcoin talk bitcoin payza исходники bitcoin bitcoin service bitcoin analysis local ethereum продам bitcoin goldsday bitcoin bitcoin it
bitcoin халява ethereum usd satoshi bitcoin monero spelunker grayscale bitcoin casino bitcoin bitcoin galaxy bitcoin перспективы buy tether byzantium ethereum asus bitcoin bitcoin pump payable ethereum The app, Boardroom, enables organizational decision-making to happen on the blockchain. In practice, this means company governance becomes fully transparent and verifiable when managing digital assets, equity or information.bitcoin gadget bitcoin forbes
bitcoin 2020 bitcoin earnings monero xmr bitcoin traffic дешевеет bitcoin bitcoin earnings up bitcoin я bitcoin
bitcoin конвертер bitcoin games
ethereum org bitcoin portable decred cryptocurrency математика bitcoin bitcoin кошелька кран bitcoin monero биржа лото bitcoin moneybox bitcoin bitcoin список
криптокошельки ethereum bitcoin second bitcoin scam tether пополнение air bitcoin yota tether
make bitcoin cryptocurrency tech bitcoin транзакция best cryptocurrency ethereum падает bitcoin capital balance bitcoin bitcoin банкнота bitcoin talk bitcoin биржа торрент bitcoin bitcoin зарегистрироваться algorithm bitcoin
clame bitcoin bitcoin валюты bitcoin knots bitcoin office bitcoin ocean bitcoin analysis balance bitcoin bitcoin cache логотип bitcoin loans bitcoin rpc bitcoin ethereum node обменник tether ethereum создатель rigname ethereum accepts bitcoin 10 bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin bitcoin крах monero ico polkadot store monero ico bitcoin удвоитель bitcoin чат майнинга bitcoin bitcoin подтверждение bitcoin office eth ethereum приложение tether trezor ethereum gek monero tether download автомат bitcoin отдам bitcoin ethereum org supernova ethereum vk bitcoin bitcoin 3 Offline computers can be configured with a range of security features, depending on budget, the value of funds being stored, and perceived threat.FINANCIAL ECONOMY DURING A REFORMATIONbitcoin автоматически кошельки bitcoin bitcoin me майнинг bitcoin bitcoin спекуляция ethereum покупка майнер ethereum бесплатно bitcoin
green bitcoin bitcoin crush bitcoin hyip
600 bitcoin bitcoin кошельки bitcoin hack bitcoin установка bitcoin андроид bitcoin paper вклады bitcoin monero ann bitcoin delphi
avto bitcoin antminer ethereum bitcoin usd bitcoin машины bitcoin футболка phoenix bitcoin ethereum заработок 1000 bitcoin jax bitcoin bitcoin форум биржа bitcoin homestead ethereum zcash bitcoin ethereum акции youtube bitcoin 2018 bitcoin валюта tether bitcoin инструкция genesis bitcoin swarm ethereum cryptonator ethereum bitcoin падает
And what makes all of these valuation methods remotely possible is that gold and silver have inherent scarcity; there’s only so much that can be economically mined. In fact, the total volume of all gold ever mined can be fit into a cube of less than 25 meters on each side.surf bitcoin avto bitcoin bitcoin casino nonce bitcoin project ethereum bitcoin cap
подарю bitcoin капитализация bitcoin ethereum курсы bitcoin sberbank bitcoin автоматически testnet bitcoin нода ethereum bitcoin moneypolo
bitcoin получение bitcoin стоимость 99 bitcoin bitcoin 2 bitcoin yandex bitcoin регистрация bitcoin golden love bitcoin space bitcoin ethereum прогноз ethereum обвал bitcoin настройка bitcoin anonymous взлом bitcoin bitcoin nodes rus bitcoin up bitcoin bitcoin андроид bounty bitcoin
okpay bitcoin ethereum dark ethereum programming
bitcoin цена зарабатывать bitcoin
lazy bitcoin bitcoin blog ubuntu bitcoin dogecoin bitcoin se*****256k1 bitcoin блог bitcoin bitcoin future депозит bitcoin ферма bitcoin аналоги bitcoin bitcoin вектор testnet bitcoin bitcoin переводчик gadget bitcoin se*****256k1 ethereum bitcoin футболка ethereum stratum bitcoin растет clockworkmod tether bitcoin gadget
tether перевод пулы bitcoin ultimate bitcoin bitcoin компьютер китай bitcoin криптовалюту monero
tracker bitcoin bitcoin world форк bitcoin cryptocurrency trade bitcoin symbol bitcoin зарегистрироваться Each time a block is produced and a miner is paid, new bitcoins come into existence. The computer which finds a lucky hash is paid a reward automatically by the network, in Bitcoin. This is called the coinbase reward. Like everyone else, miners must have a public key to receive these funds.pirates bitcoin проекта ethereum bitcoin vector solo bitcoin bitcoin center розыгрыш bitcoin bitcoin usd enterprise ethereum monero hardfork bitcoin wallpaper bitcoin таблица monster bitcoin теханализ bitcoin fields bitcoin mastering bitcoin bitcoin boxbit проекта ethereum tether coin monero ann
ethereum dag japan bitcoin global bitcoin bitcoin get ethereum упал master bitcoin пополнить bitcoin http bitcoin bitcoin wm bitcoin casinos перевести bitcoin bitcoin cli bitcoin earning laundering bitcoin вики bitcoin курс bitcoin coffee bitcoin nodes bitcoin ethereum complexity проекта ethereum ethereum gas ebay bitcoin алгоритм ethereum
bitcoin primedice bitcoin миллионеры
tether верификация bitcoin окупаемость dwarfpool monero solo bitcoin bitcoin 100 транзакции bitcoin bitcoin 4096 ethereum address bitcoin protocol bitcoin nachrichten bitcoin мерчант
bitcoin презентация рост bitcoin bitcoin talk bitcoin bcc bitcoin сервера разработчик bitcoin genesis bitcoin bitcoin symbol ethereum explorer monero blockchain bitcoin mining bitcoin super reddit cryptocurrency bitcoin fake cryptocurrency charts
bitcoin classic bitcoin joker king bitcoin
bitcoin приложения mikrotik bitcoin
vector bitcoin 0 bitcoin
bitcoin allstars
tether usd ethereum debian bitcoin eobot
bitcoin abc cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin reserve panda bitcoin clame bitcoin
top tether
bitcoin уязвимости bubble bitcoin bitcoin journal golden bitcoin bitcoin расшифровка
bitcoin count bitcoin freebie ethereum nicehash monero gpu tether майнинг bitcoin книга
количество bitcoin token bitcoin продам ethereum кошельки bitcoin
bitcoin example вирус bitcoin kurs bitcoin bitcoin registration master bitcoin виталик ethereum Accelerating past the normal pace of open allocation requires some new tricks, because the usual speed-ups—raising money, paying fat salaries, and central planning often end up reducing developer draw and hardware draw, not increasing it.bitcoin форумы bitcoin руб bitcoin роботы cnbc bitcoin win bitcoin bitcoin frog best bitcoin usb tether 2018 bitcoin bitfenix bitcoin иконка bitcoin Think about how you spend your money in everyday life. When you withdraw money from the ATM machine, the bank knows where you are and how much you are spending. When you use your credit card on holiday, the credit card company also knows where you are and how much you spend.There are measures that individuals can take to make their exercises more hazy on the bitcoin arrange, however, for example, not utilizing the same bitcoin addresses reliably, and not exchanging bunches of bitcoin to a solitary address.динамика ethereum bitcoin бумажник bitcoin sha256 cryptocurrency forum обмен ethereum Mining is one of the most important parts of blockchain technology, so we wouldn’t be able to answer 'what is Litecoin?' without talking about it!github ethereum bitcoin бесплатные баланс bitcoin bitcoin sportsbook ethereum linux people bitcoin bitcoin упал мастернода bitcoin monero настройка
bitcoin anonymous
виталик ethereum fire bitcoin bitcoin 2020 accepts bitcoin bitcoin virus ethereum пулы Hackers enjoy writing software, and will work on a network protocol before it is launched, and before its coins have any value. As long as the initial design is sound, a Bitcoin-like cryptocurrency network will accrue value once launched, provided hackers consistently volunteer time to make it a more stable platform for 'entrepreneurial joiners,' who may have fewer skills and resources, but add valuable eyeballs. Bitcoin-like networks which do not grow in developer draw are usurped by mining cartels in a delicate balance of terror.legal bitcoin homestead ethereum
trade cryptocurrency bitcoin получить zcash bitcoin bitcoin информация bitcoin ротатор case bitcoin
bitcoin видеокарта india bitcoin monero xmr
технология bitcoin simple bitcoin bitcoin shops 100 bitcoin лото bitcoin проект bitcoin
сложность monero bitcoin автоматически кошелька ethereum ethereum логотип bitcoin шахта разработчик bitcoin хардфорк ethereum миксер bitcoin обмен monero tether курс bitcoin 2048 bitcoin регистрация simplewallet monero
best bitcoin
polkadot блог bitcoin цена bitcoin nyse
bitcoin россия банкомат bitcoin Many marketplaces called 'bitcoin exchanges' allow people to buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies. Coinbase is a leading exchange, along with Bitstamp and Bitfinex. But security can be a concern: bitcoins worth tens of millions of dollars were stolen from Bitfinex when it was hacked in 2016.bitcoin падение мастернода bitcoin nonce bitcoin bitcoin акции bitcoin софт форки ethereum
monaco cryptocurrency bitcoin софт x2 bitcoin billionaire bitcoin
blog bitcoin bitcoin обсуждение bitcoin agario dog bitcoin технология bitcoin ethereum pow blacktrail bitcoin
group bitcoin bitcoin nodes bitcoin zona ethereum classic tether перевод bitcoin project разделение ethereum
bitcoin мастернода
1 bitcoin
проект bitcoin avto bitcoin
заработок bitcoin bitcoin rbc bitcoin usd bitcoin fork дешевеет bitcoin конференция bitcoin bitcoin кошелек tether обзор сайте bitcoin tether yota security bitcoin
chaindata ethereum купить bitcoin bitcoin simple bitcoin earnings bitcoin nachrichten bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin обмен bitcoin generate ethereum проблемы bitcoin будущее доходность ethereum ethereum com работа bitcoin tether bootstrap курс ethereum bitcoin grant пул bitcoin bitcoin fake bitcoin roulette tether bootstrap free bitcoin Bitcoin is Not Backed by Nothingкриптовалюта tether рулетка bitcoin алгоритм bitcoin
bitcoin strategy r bitcoin bitcoin laundering trading cryptocurrency hd bitcoin bitcoin global bitcoin chains bitcoin 2017 seed bitcoin block bitcoin hashrate bitcoin заработок ethereum капитализация ethereum autobot bitcoin group bitcoin bitcoin signals платформу ethereum bitcoin обозначение 16 bitcoin tether майнинг настройка bitcoin bitcoin 33 bitcoin two
finex bitcoin coinder bitcoin ротатор bitcoin приват24 bitcoin bitcoin уязвимости bitcoin калькулятор joker bitcoin поиск bitcoin
bitcoin collector обзор bitcoin эмиссия ethereum bitcoin 123 bitcoin capital bitcoin world bitcoin roulette
инвестиции bitcoin reddit bitcoin attack bitcoin
equihash bitcoin bitcoin мошенничество bitcoin flex bitcoin депозит стратегия bitcoin bitcoin iso earn bitcoin bitcoin список game bitcoin metropolis ethereum
purse bitcoin график bitcoin бутерин ethereum best bitcoin
forbes bitcoin bitcoin club bitcoin рбк bitcoin 999 bitcoin экспресс адреса bitcoin coinmarketcap bitcoin bitcoin delphi кошелек monero dog bitcoin bitcoin акции ebay bitcoin асик ethereum asrock bitcoin
sberbank bitcoin торговать bitcoin service bitcoin ethereum упал ethereum майнить bitcoin plugin ethereum создатель bitcoin main вики bitcoin bitcoin 2017 казахстан bitcoin bitcoin зебра solo bitcoin шахта bitcoin вывести bitcoin value bitcoin
china cryptocurrency кости bitcoin autobot bitcoin bitcoin история bitcoin прогноз bitcoin get bitcoin world 2016 bitcoin bitcoin вывод кошелька ethereum bitcoin transaction china cryptocurrency bitcoin продам вывод ethereum bitcoin генераторы bitcoin x2 магазин bitcoin bitcoin buy разработчик ethereum bitcoin цена bitcoin rt bitcoin прогноз hub bitcoin bitcoin investment 99 bitcoin bitcoin mmgp bitcoin платформа redex bitcoin bitcoin analysis super bitcoin
ethereum news рейтинг bitcoin запуск bitcoin
