You may have heard the term bitcoin mining before and maybe began to wonder about finding some priceless commodity in the ground and getting rich. The idea isn’t too far off from what bitcoin really is. Bitcoin is not ruled by a central government unlike paper money where a government will determine when to print and distribute the money. Miners are people who make use of specific software to bring clarity on math problems and they are then given bitcoins in exchange for their services.
Is bitcoin secure?
Bitcoin miners work behind the scenes to ensure that the bitcoin networks are safe and secure and give the go-ahead on transactions being made. Mining is a crucial facet of bitcoin which ensures that the bitcoin is always fair and stable.
What is bitcoin mining?
Simply put, bitcoin mining is the process of adding records onto the blockchain. Blockchain comprises of a public ledger of past transactions. Bitcoin mining has been specifically designed to be rich in resources and difficult, to maintain the number of blocks that miners find each day and keep them steady. The blocks on their own must comprise of information to and proof of work so that they can be considered valid. Bitcoin is basically produced when complex math problems are solved on the bitcoin network, and by solving these problems, bitcoin systems are made secure and safe.
What is the purpose of mining?
Bitcoin mining is imperative to ensure that bitcoin nodes reach a secure and interference free domain. Bitcoin mining got its name from its similarity to the mining of important commodities. It must be exerted and thus makes a new currency which is available at the same rate as commodities like gold which is mined from the land.
Bitcoin mining is difficult
Bitcoin mining is made up of many guesses and therefore getting the answer before another miner depends on how fast your computer can process information. Bitcoin mining is very competitive in modern times so you would need the most current ASICs. Even then, one computer is not sufficient to compete in mining pools. A mining pool is a group of miners who have shared their computing power and therefore split the spoils earned from the successful completion of a project.
How fast is the network?
Bitcoin networks are capable of processing seven transactions in just one second. Transactions are logged on the blockchain every 10 minutes. The network is constantly growing and thus pretty soon, the number of transactions made in 10 minutes will be much more than the number of transactions that can be processed. Then, the waiting times for transactions will begin to increase.
Solutions?
There are two possible solutions for this problem:
- Decrease the amount of information needed to verify individual blocks
- Increase the number of transactions that each block is capable of storing
Solution one could make transactions faster and more affordable for miners and solution two will allow more data to be managed every ten minutes.
How do I get bitcoin?
You can buy bitcoin online or at a trusted service provider. You can also exchange BTC to cash in USD or withdraw them into your bank account. Bitcoin is becoming simpler to handle and more acceptable as a currency for paying for many necessities like goods online, services and even restaurant bills.
