No, you don’t go into a physical mine with a hard hat.

However, the technology behind Bitcoin mining can be described as hard-hitting

A decade ago technology was just beginning to be utilized.

Today technology has revolutionized virtually every aspect of our lives, from fridges to airplanes. But technology hasn’t just changed the way we function domestically, it’s completely changing the way we use money.

Cryptocurrency is a perfect example of technology completely changing the way we do things. Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency that I’ve been interested in for a while.

A facet of Bitcoin is the mining of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin mining is the opportunity for users to get Bitcoin. In fact, mining is incentivized. Miners process and secure the networks using specialized hardware that “mine” for new Bitcoins. As “payment” for their contribution, they receive a fraction of a Bitcoin.

Originally this process could be started by the average user. However, the process has become more extensive and expensive.

Mining is competitive and today can only be done profitably with the latest ASICs. ASIC, which stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, is a new hardware designed specifically for mining bitcoin. When using older technology the cost of energy consumption can be greater than the profit.

Once you have the equipment necessary you are ready to start.

Mining is the process by which transactions are verified and added to the public ledger, known as the blockchain.Miners compile recent transactions into blocks and solve a computationally difficult puzzle.

Blocks are solved at an average rate of 6 per hour.

The participant who first solves the puzzle gets to place the next block on the blockchain and claim the rewards. The rewards are both the transaction fees associated with the transactions compiled in the block as well as newly released bitcoin.

New coins will continue to be added at a set rate. The amount of coins created each year is halved over time until 21 million bitcoins are in circulation. When there are no more Bitcoins to add, Bitcoin miners will be rewarded by transaction fees.

I’m interested in what the future of cryptocurrency will look like.