Bitcoin mining is a way to earn bitcoins as rewards by confirming the blocks on the network. It might sound like a complicated process to start with, but we have detailed all the steps that will help you set up a bitcoin miner yourself.
What is Bitcoin mining?
Bitcoin mining is a way where you compete with your mining hardware with everyone on the network to earn bitcoins. It is a very crucial process that keeps the network secure. Bitcoin mining is the process of adding transaction records to the network’s public ledger. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to distinguish legitimate transactions from attempts to re-spend the coins.
What is a Bitcoin Miner?
There are several ways to start bitcoin mining, either you can get a cloud-mining contract or set up your bitcoin mining hardware. In this post, we’ll focus on setting up your own bitcoin mining hardware.
Here are the steps that you will need to follow to set up a bitcoin miner:
- Get a bitcoin mining hardware
- Download free bitcoin mining software
- Join a bitcoin mining pool
- Set up a bitcoin wallet
Follow the below guidelines to set up a bitcoin miner successfully.
1. Get a bitcoin mining hardware
In order to begin mining bitcoins, the first thing required is to acquire a bitcoin mining hardware, also called a mining rig. Earlier, it was possible to mine bitcoin from your computer or high-speed video processor card, but that is not possible today. Bitcoin mining consumes a lot of electricity nearly as much as profits earned, so it is important to only use bitcoin miners that specifically build for that purpose. Some of the best bitcoin miners currently are AntMiner S7, AntMiner S9, and Avalon6.
Note: Some bitcoin miners come with their own internal power supplies, while some have to be bought external PSU (Power Supply Units).
2. Download a free bitcoin miner software
Once you have acquired the most suitable bitcoin miner, you will be required to download a special program that will be used for bitcoin mining. Currently, there are several programs out there that are used for bitcoin mining. CGminer and BFGminer are among the most popular programs used for mining. To determine the estimated profits for mining bitcoin, you can use a bitcoin miner calculator.
Note: EasyMiner software works on Windows, Linux, and Android machines and not on Mac OS.
3. Join a bitcoin mining pool
Once you have successfully installed a bitcoin mining software, then you will be required to join a bitcoin mining pool. These pools are groups of Bitcoin miners working together to solve a block and share in its rewards. Without joining a bitcoin mining pool, you can mine bitcoins for a year and still not get any reward.
Note: BTC.com is a public mining pool that can be joined and mines 15% of all block.
4. Set up a Bitcoin Wallet
After joining the bitcoin mining pool, you will need a bitcoin wallet to receive the bitcoins you mine. You can create a new bitcoin wallet or use an existing one. It is highly recommended to keep your bitcoin wallet secure by enabling two-factor authentication. Now you are all set to earn bitcoin in rewards for making the network more secure.
Note: 65% of the total bitcoin mining happens in China.
Every four years bitcoin network goes through a halving event, which reduces the bitcoin reward earned by miners in half. The next halvening event is scheduled to take place in May 2020. If you decide to mine bitcoins, it is highly advised to check the laws and regulations regarding it in your country.
