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For example, the SHA-256 of this word BUTTERFLY (source) is 8c62ace4f9ef8ccd08ca6fb992a8524bb7dbdc0530654bd254c9da07a660949a (HASH). This seemingly random string of letters and numbers contains three important properties:

Bitcoin mining involves three factors: the block, the mining issue and a random number. Heres how it all comes together:

Imagine our cube consists of the term BUTTERFLY discussed earlier. In reality, the block could contain a list of recent, unverified transactions, but lets keep it simple. In order for the block to be solved, bitcoin utilizes a deceptively simple test: If the HASH consequence of the block starts with a certain number of zeros, the cube is considered confirmed.

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For instance, lets say that we have a mining problem of simply two, ie, our HASH must begin with two zeros. .

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The problem: BUTTERFLY will always return the same HASH, and it doesnt start with two zeros. So what we need is the next factor, a random number (called a NONCE). We carry this number, combine it with BUTTERFLY, and HASH again. If it doesnt start with two zeros, we change the number and try again, and since changing one small number changes the entire HASH result, there's absolutely no way to forecast the number well need to solve this! .

We repeat this process over and over until we find a number that, when combined with BUTTERFLY, provides us a HASH that begins with two zeros. That number is your solution to the block. Here are some attempts:

This arduous process of randomly trying to find a number that gives the solution is the thing that creates bitcoin mining such a computationally expensive procedure, and as more miners join the network, the tougher it gets. As of November 2017, a regular home computer working alone, ie, not an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and not a part of a cloud mining network, could require 2.7 million years to mine one block. .

This has caused the rise of ASIC computers constructed particularly for mining and to an increase in cloud mining.

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CPU mining. In the early days of bitcoin, mining difficulty was reduced and not a lot of miners were competing for cubes and rewards. This made it worthwhile to use your computers own central processing unit (CPU) to mine bitcoin. However, that approach was soon replaced by GPU mining.

GPU mining. An graphics processing unit (GPU) is a powerful processor whose sole objective is to help your computers graphics card in rendering 3D graphics. GPUs are not built for executive decisions (like CPUs) but to be very good labourers, hence GPUs are able to execute over 800 times more instructions in the exact same amount of time as a CPU.

FPGA mining. Next came mining using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). These greatly outperformed GPUs and CPUs in the mining procedure as FPGAs are chips that can be programmed to execute certain instructions and only those instructions (instead of being repurposed for mining, like GPUs were).

ASIC mining. Comparable to FPGAs, application-specific integrated circuits are processors designed for a particular function, in our case mining bitcoin, and nothing else. ASICs for bitcoin were introduced in 2013 and, as of November 2017, they are the best processors out there for mining bitcoin and they outperform FPGAs in electricity consumption. .

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Mining pools. To offset the difficulty of mining a block, miners started organising in pools or cloud mining networks. Whenever a miner in one of those pools solves a block, the payoff is shared with everyone in the swimming pool in a ratio representative of how much work you put into the pool (even though you personally never solved the mystery ). .

Cloud mining. Clouds provide prospective miners the ability to purchase mining rigs in a remote data centre location. There are many obvious advantages, the most obvious being: no energy costs, no extra heat and nothing to sell when you opt to hang up your virtual pickaxe.

Once miners get bitcoin, they are given a digital key to the bitcoin addresses. You can use this electronic key to gain access and confirm or approve transactions.

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Desktop wallets. Software such as Bitcoin Core lets you send and store bitcoin addresses and connects to the network to track transactions.

Online wallets. Bitcoin keys are saved online by exchange programs such as Coinbase or Circle and can be accessed from anywhere.

Mobile wallets. Programs like Blockchain store and encrypt your bitcoin keys so that you can make payments using your mobile device.

Paper wallets. Some websites offer paper wallet solutions, generating a great post to read bit of paper with just two QR codes on it. One code is the public address where you receive bitcoin and the other one is your personal address you can use for spending.