Bitcoin Mining: What Is It And How Does It Work? | Bankrate

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Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving extremely complicated math problems that verify transactions in the currency. When a bitcoin is successfully mined, the miner receives a predetermined amount of bitcoin.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that’s gained a wide following due to its wild price swings and surging value since it was first created in 2009.

As prices of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in particular have skyrocketed in recent years, it’s understandable that interest in mining has picked up as well. But for most people, the prospects for Bitcoin mining are not good due to its complex nature and high costs. Here are the basics on how Bitcoin mining works and some key risks to be aware of.

Bitcoin is one of the most popular types of cryptocurrencies, which are digital mediums of exchange that exist solely online. Bitcoin runs on a decentralized computer network or distributed ledger that tracks transactions in the cryptocurrency. When computers on the network verify and process transactions, new bitcoins are created, or mined. These networked computers, or miners, process the transaction in exchange for a payment in Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is powered by blockchain, which is the technology that powers many cryptocurrencies. A blockchain is a decentralized ledger of all the transactions across a network. Groups of approved transactions together form a block and are joined to create a chain. Think of it as a long public record that functions almost like a long running receipt. Bitcoin mining is the process of adding a block to the chain.

In order to successfully add a block, Bitcoin miners compete to solve extremely complex math problems that require the use of expensive computers and enormous amounts of electricity. To complete the mining process, miners must be first to arrive at the correct or closest answer to the question. The process of guessing the correct number (hash) is known as proof of work. Miners guess the target hash by randomly making as many guesses as quickly as they can, which requires major computing power. The difficulty only increases as more miners join the network.

The computer hardware required is known as application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, and can cost up to $10,000. ASICs consume huge amounts of electricity, which has drawn criticism from environmental groups and limits the profitability of miners.

If a miner is able to successfully add a block to the blockchain, they will receive 3.125 bitcoins as a reward. The reward amount is cut in half roughly every four years, or every 210,000 blocks. As of early October 2024, Bitcoin traded at around $62,000, making 3.125 bitcoins worth $193,750.

It depends. Even if Bitcoin miners are successful, it’s not clear that their efforts will end up being profitable due to the high upfront costs of equipment and the ongoing electricity costs. Worldwide, bitcoin mining uses more electricity than Poland, a nation of 36.8 million people, according to the University of Cambridge’s Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. Bitcoin mining is so energy intensive that a bitcoin miner in Texas made more in energy credits ($31 million) for not mining than from actual mining this summer.

As the difficulty and complexity of Bitcoin mining has increased, the computing power required has also gone up. Bitcoin mining consumes about 166.75 terawatt-hours of electricity each year, more than most countries, according to the Cambridge index. You’d need nine years’ worth of the typical U.S. household’s electricity to mine just one bitcoin as of August 2021.

One way to share some of the high costs of mining is by joining a mining pool. Pools allow miners to share resources and add more capability, but shared resources mean shared rewards, so the potential payout is less when working through a pool. The volatility of Bitcoin’s price also makes it difficult to know exactly how much you’re working for.

Here are the basics you’ll need to start mining Bitcoin.

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It’s important to remember the impact that taxes can have on Bitcoin mining. The IRS has been looking to crack down on owners and traders of cryptocurrencies as the asset prices have ballooned in recent years. Here are the key tax considerations to keep in mind for Bitcoin mining.

Check out Bankrate’s cryptocurrency tax guide to learn about basic tax rules for Bitcoin, Ethereum and more.

While Bitcoin mining sounds appealing, the reality is that it’s difficult and expensive to actually do profitably. The extreme volatility of Bitcoin’s price adds more uncertainty to the equation.

Keep in mind that Bitcoin itself is a speculative asset with no intrinsic value, which means it won’t produce anything for its owner and isn’t pegged to something like gold. Your return is based on selling it to someone else for a higher price, and that price may not be high enough for you to turn a profit.

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