HOW TO MINE BITCOINS?
Mining Hardware running Special Software
Bitcoins are mined with purpose-built equipment known as miners. Bitcoin mining is done by verifying and adding records of bitcoin transactions around the world onto a public ledger known as the blockchain. As each new block is verified, it is added to the previous blocks in a series like a chain, hence the term, blockchain.
See the next article What is the Blockchain for more information after this, and why it is very secure.
In the beginning when bitcoin had little or no value, and hence low adoption, the number of transactions taking place worldwide every minute was low. One could easily use a built-in graphics card or graphics processing unit (GPU) in a laptop or desktop PC to mine for bitcoins.
As the value of bitcoin increased over the years:
Bitcoins are mined with purpose-built equipment known as miners. Bitcoin mining is done by verifying and adding records of bitcoin transactions around the world onto a public ledger known as the blockchain. As each new block is verified, it is added to the previous blocks in a series like a chain, hence the term, blockchain.
See the next article What is the Blockchain for more information after this, and why it is very secure.
In the beginning when bitcoin had little or no value, and hence low adoption, the number of transactions taking place worldwide every minute was low. One could easily use a built-in graphics card or graphics processing unit (GPU) in a laptop or desktop PC to mine for bitcoins.
As the value of bitcoin increased over the years:
- worldwide adoption increased leading to exponential increase in the number of transactions
- more people got involved with mining and connected their miners to the system
- the hashrate capacities of the GPUs became inadequate
(due to increasing transactions and bitcoin mining difficulty – see below) - the need for much higher computing power became necessary
It is important to note that for item 4, the use of higher computing power led to increased power consumption and electricity cost, and continuous cooling was also required to prevent overheating. The decreasing supply of bitcoins and increasing number of miners also meant that bitcoins were getting harder and more expensive to mine, and would only be worthwhile and profitable if utilities costs and overheads were kept to a minimum, after subtracting hardware costs and mining pool fees. From experience of power and required cooling (from 24/7 air-conditioning) expenses based on domestic electricity tariffs for most parts of the world, it is now no longer profitable to run a DIY bitcoin mining operation from home since around 2013 and 2014.
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With yearly declining mining profitability, only a bitcoin mining farm housed in a building with its own efficient power grid and cooling can make the cut and seem worthwhile these days, since the last couple of years.
Also, GPUs are no longer adequate for mining bitcoins anymore due to their comparatively lower hashrates compared to more current state-of-the-art mining equipment, which runs at much higher hashrates at greater power efficiencies.
So, what is a bitcoin mining hardware and what does it look like?
Also, GPUs are no longer adequate for mining bitcoins anymore due to their comparatively lower hashrates compared to more current state-of-the-art mining equipment, which runs at much higher hashrates at greater power efficiencies.
So, what is a bitcoin mining hardware and what does it look like?
Bitcoin Mining Hardware
While bitcoins were once possible to be mined using a computer’s built-in CPU and GPU, the transaction volume and mining difficulty since the last few years was such that mining activity was only viable and worthwhile with purpose-built hardware known as miners. Such miners were also known as ASIC miners, or Application Specific Integrated Chip miners – which meant they were built and designed for only one specific purpose – bitcoin mining.
In 2016 and 2017, the most efficient and capable miner available is the AntMiner S9, which is designed with 16nm chips for high efficiency and quick heat dissipation. Having the AntMiner S9 served three main purposes:
- the higher hashrate gave a competitive edge over other (older) miners in use around the world
- a better power efficiency meant lower power consumption and lower utility bills
- a faster heat dissipation meant lower cooling load requirements and lower utility bills
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH A BITCOIN MINING POOL
At CryptoMentor, we mine bitcoins with the community known as BitClub Network, where we honestly believe is the best place for anyone to get started in mining. They have a variety of plans for people with different budgets, and they take care of the electricity, cooling, hardware upgrades, setup, and maintenance for their members for a hassle-free mining experience. For more information, go to FAQ on Bitcoin Mining and BitClub Network or jump directly to Join A Bitcoin Mining Pool.