What is Bitcoin Mining?
Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency. Creating or ‘mining’ is possible through blockchain technology. It mainly involves stringing together blocks of transactional data to build a chain. The chains are digitally verified transactions in a highly decentralized system.
Think of the mining process as a giant ledger that records online-based transactions, and Bitcoin is the currency. While there are many forms of cryptocurrency available today, Bitcoin remains the most popular. In 2021, the average price of Bitcoin hovered around $80,000. That is a lot of money!
How to Get Started?
The monetary gains associated with mining bitcoin can be truly staggering. You might be thinking, an online currency like Bitcoin should not be difficult to mine. While the process involves much complex mathematics and problem-solving, you do not need to worry about that. The hardware will take care of it for you.
Investing in the hardware is where you come in. While any computer can theoretically mine bitcoin, the process is very time-consuming. You are required to leave your device open all time.
Which Miner is the Right One?
There are processing units or CPUs specifically designed for mining Bitcoin. These miners are action-specific and their sole purpose is to mine Bitcoin as fast as possible using the least amount of power. These CPUs can be wildly expensive, but great options are available. The z15 miner is a fantastic processing unit that has been making waves in the Bitcoin market lately. Made by the Chinese manufacturer Bitmain, the z15 boasts a hashrate of 420ksol/s. The hashrate is the mining power of your CPU.
This is a perfect mid-sized rig designed for those serious about Bitcoin mining. The unit itself is not too big and is perfect for small rooms.
Overheating and excessive noise is common complaint of mining units. Its in-built cooling system keeps the room cool around 5° to 35 °C. The noise suppression system ensures the sound level stays below 72 decibels.
Let’s Talk Profit
With the multitude of cryptocurrencies available in the market, it is important to select the right one to mine. Bitcoin remains ever popular with prices going over $66, 000 per unit. However, it is time-consuming to mine these days as the absolute limit of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million units.
The exponential boom of online-based transactions over the last decade has given rise to several profitable cryptocurrencies. Zcash, Pirate, and Horizen are some notable ones. The market value of those cryptocurrencies is on the rise. There has never been a better time to start mining.
The z15 operates on the Equihash program developed by the manufacturers themselves. Over 24 hours. Zcash is expected to return a net profit of $25.48. Pirate will yield $28.65 and Horizen around $24.79.
These numbers are already impressive considering how little time and money you have to invest. Once the CPU is up and running, all you have to do is sit back and relax. You may choose to ignore all other cryptocurrencies and just mine Bitcoin. It is still viable and will yield a high-profit margin.
How to Spend Bitcoin?
The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies has prompted big corporations to sell products in exchange for them. It is no secret that Bitcoin is the first choice for most of these companies. More ways to spend Bitcoin are being introduced every day. Here are a few ways you can spend Bitcoin.
Charity
Since Bitcoin is mined with little to no hassle, you may wish to pay it forward. Many non-profit organizations are currently accepting Bitcoin as a donation.
Online Shopping
Bitcoin is becoming more popular as a form of online payment. Alibaba already accepts payment in Bitcoin. We are still waiting for other retail tycoons like Amazon and Best Buy to introduce Bitcoin payments, but there is an easy way to circumvent that.
Gift Cards
Bitcoin can be used to purchase gift cards from retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and many more. You can buy them from various online gift card sellers.
Video Games
The Microsoft store accepts Bitcoin payments, so you can buy video games directly. There are servers of online games like Minecraft that accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.
Protecting Your Bitcoin
In terms of real-world money, the exchange value of Bitcoin is astronomical. Needless to say, protecting your Bitcoin is vital.
There are two types of wallets, cold and hot. Cold wallets are much more secure as they are not connected to the internet. This makes your cryptocurrency immune from cyberattacks. You may keep a small amount of Bitcoin in your hot wallet for immediate transactions.
Virtual wallets are encoded so changing your passwords often is a simple yet effective way to keep your Bitcoins protected. Cryptocurrencies are prone to phishing attacks so always use licensed anti-phishing software.
A secure internet network (real IP address) is imperative if you have Bitcoin. It is also recommended you use more than one wallet and spread out your Bitcoins. Even if one of them gets lost, most of your money will be safe.
The Future of Bitcoin
Technically, the theoretical cap of 21 million Bitcoins can never be reached because of rounding protocols embedded in its code. In other words, it will always remain useful.
The technological advancements of Bitcoin mining have changed how we perceive monetary transactions. While Bitcoin cannot compete with the Dollar and Euro at present, it is only a matter of time before it is accepted as a universal form of payment. Safe to say, the future of Bitcoin is secure.
With technological advancements and the price of expensive hardware going down every day, Mining Bitcoin has never been easier. It is a great way to get a head start on the future.
