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

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

Imagine our cube consists of the word 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, then the block is considered confirmed.

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For our example, lets say that we have a mining problem of simply two, ie, our HASH should start 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 your next variable, a random number (called a NONCE). We take this number, combine it with BUTTERFLY, and HASH again. If it doesnt begin with two zeros, we change the number and try again, and since changing one little number changes the entire HASH result, there is no way to predict the number well need to solve this! .

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

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

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

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CPU mining. In the first days of bitcoin, mining difficulty was reduced and not a lot of miners were competing for blocks and rewards. This made it worthwhile to utilize your computers own central processing unit (CPU) to mine bitcoin. However, that strategy 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 (such as CPUs) however to be very great labourers, hence GPUs can execute over 800 times more instructions in precisely 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 which can be programmed to perform certain instructions and only those instructions (instead of being repurposed for mining, like GPUs were).

ASIC mining. Similar to FPGAs, application-specific integrated circuits are chips designed for a particular function, in our situation mining bitcoin, and nothing else. ASICs for bitcoin were introduced in 2013 and, as of November 2017, they're the best processors available for mining bitcoin and they outperform FPGAs in electricity consumption. .

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Mining pools. To offset the problem of mining a block, miners started organising in cloud or pools mining networks. Whenever a miner in one of these pools simplifies a cube, 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 capability to purchase mining channels in a remote data centre location. There are many obvious advantages, the most obvious beingno electricity costs, no extra heat and nothing to market when you decide to see this page hang your virtual pickaxe.

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

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Desktop wallets. Software such as Bitcoin Core lets you send and save 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 retrieved from anywhere.

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

Paper wallets. Some websites offer paper wallet solutions, generating a bit of paper using two QR codes on it. One code is the public address where you receive bitcoin and the other is the private address you can use for spending.