How does bitcoin mining work?
New bitcoins are created in a process known as “mining.” With bitcoin mining, “miners” are rewarded to help keep the bitcoin network running smoothly by verifying transactions from one bitcoin wallet to another. You probably know all of that already, but how long will it take to mine an entire Bitcoin?
The answer to this question is not simple. You can get ten bitcoins at once for only 10 minutes of mining, but unless you have invested in a large-scale mining rig, this is not likely. It is best that the Bitcoin protocol ensures that Bitcoin is only produced every 10 minutes, using what is known as “mining difficulty.” The more computing power that is put into the network, the more difficult it is to solve the algorithm and create the next block to receive the reward for doing so.
As for the victor, it goes to the spoils, and if you manage a few miners, you may have better luck receiving anything at all by joining a bitcoin mining pool. These mining pools combine computing power from users around the world into a single source, then when the pool succeeds in mining a block, rewards are distributed to pool members, usually based on how much power they put in the total.
Bitcoin mining hardware requirements?
The speed at which you can mine Bitcoin depends entirely on the hardware you are using for mining. If you put together a heavy-duty mining rig, you may be able to mine blocks yourself and get rewards with amazing speed. If not, the bitcoins you earn will accumulate over time, again dependent on the power of your rig. To learn more about bitcoin mining hardware, read our blog post, [Best Bitcoin Mining Hardware 2019?].
Currently, as long as the mining difficulty is constantly adjusted to maintain stable coin production, 12.5 bitcoins are generated every 10 minutes. That's 75 hourly and 1800 daily. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is generated daily with just over $6 million! Despite this, there is a mechanism in place by which the reward for mining a block is halved for every 210,000 blocks mined or roughly every four years. Around the middle of 2020, when the next “halving” occurs, the block reward will drop to 6.25 BTC. [Click here to view BTC difficulty chart]
So, doing the math, relying on the number of bitcoins being produced every day to steadily decrease, the last bitcoins should have been mined around the year 2140. This gives us all plenty of time to put our bitcoin mining rigs together. Remember, though, that these last few coins will be very difficult to extract, so get out and strike while the iron is hot!
Comments
Post a Comment