Golden Encyclopedia | How long does it take to mine one Bitcoin?

Author: Max Moeller, CoinTelegraph; Compiler: Wuzhu, Golden Finance

1. What is Bitcoin mining?

Bitcoin mining is the method of transaction verification on the network. This process is also the process of adding new Bitcoins to the existing supply.

There are currently about 19.5 million Bitcoins in circulation, and the total supply of the cryptocurrency is expected to be 21 million. The last 1.5 million or so are locked up, waiting for users with powerful computers to release them through Bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin mining is like a digital treasure hunt. Miners are equipped with powerful computer hardware and search for a 64-bit hexadecimal code that verifies a block of transactions. This code (also known as a hash) is found through a process called hashing.

Hashing requires computer hardware to sift through trillions of hash values ​​to find a hash (also known as a target hash) that matches the difficulty of the block. Once miners find the target hash value for a block, they can verify that their transaction is authentic and confirm the block. The network then produces more Bitcoin (BTC).

Finding the target hash can take a long time for miners. How long this takes depends on many factors, such as the current mining difficulty of the Bitcoin network. The difficulty adjustment occurs every 2,016 blocks and is raised or lowered based on the number of miners contributing. The more miners there are, the higher the difficulty is, and the fewer miners, the lower the difficulty is.

Mining equipment adheres to Bitcoin's mining algorithm, SHA-256. SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function used in applications such as password hashing and digital signature verification.  

Every 10 minutes a new block is mined, and the network releases a fixed number of Bitcoins and distributes them to miners. The Bitcoins released at this time are called block rewards. Before the Bitcoin halving in April 2024, the block reward was 6.25 Bitcoins per block. The Bitcoin halving event reduces the reward to 3.125 Bitcoins, which is halved approximately every four years. This halving process was programmed by Bitcoin's creators to create digital scarcity and maintain Bitcoin's value, which also greatly affects the profitability of the mining industry.

Bitcoin's creators programmed the network to halve every 210,000 blocks (roughly every four years) to create digital scarcity. At this rate, Bitcoin will not reach its cap of 21 million until 2140.

At that point, miners will still be rewarded through transaction fees, but no new Bitcoins will be released to the network.

How long does it take on average to mine a Bitcoin?

The time it takes to mine 1 Bitcoin can vary.

Each packaged Bitcoin block releases 3.125 Bitcoins. To answer this core question, it takes an average of 10 minutes to mine not just 1 Bitcoin, but 3 Bitcoins, and this rate fluctuates over time. However, due to the large amount of computing power required to mine a single block (also known as the block time), it is almost impossible for a miner to receive all 3.125 rewards.

How long does it take for one person to mine 1 Bitcoin? Due to the different hardware of miners, this number can range greatly. For example, some miners have dozens, if not hundreds, of mining hardware in an attempt to increase their hash rate. In this case, they may earn more Bitcoin per block than other miners with lower hash rates. Many miners join mining pools as a way to contribute to Bitcoin mining.

A mining pool is a group of miners who contribute their hash rate as an entity in the hope of finding a target hash. In the process, miners are rewarded based on their hash rate contribution.

The rewards are distributed by the mining pool operator, who usually charges a pool fee. However, miners can contribute to different types of mining pools.

Proportional Rewards

A mining pool distributes rewards based on the miners' hash rate contribution. They can also earn additional rewards through transaction fees.

Pay by Last N Groups

Pools assign miners to shifts and pay them based on how long they are on a "shift". A shift is a fixed period of time that a miner contributes to the pool.

Pay by Share

Pools provide miners with a fixed income, expecting them to contribute a certain amount of computing power every day. While this is a stable way to mine Bitcoin, it eliminates the ability for miners to earn transaction fees.

How difficult is it to mine Bitcoin alone?

Mining Bitcoin alone requires a miner to compete with all other miners around the world.

Bitcoin's Proof of Work (PoW) consensus protocol makes mining a natural competition. Regardless of the power of the mining equipment, the chances of a solo miner beating the rest of the world's miners to obtain the block target hash value are almost zero.

In the early days of Bitcoin, the mining difficulty was relatively low due to the lack of miners. The block reward was also much higher, with miners earning tens of Bitcoins per block. However, at that time, the value of Bitcoin was less than $1, so the reward was still quite appropriate.

Currently, independent miners join cryptocurrency mining pools for the opportunity to receive rewards from Bitcoin mining. Potential miners who do not have powerful mining machines can also join cloud mining services to save initial investment costs.

Cloud mining services consist of miners renting out computing power through the cloud and asking users to pay a portion of the fee. As a result, miners pass on part of the energy consumption costs to paying users. In return, paying users receive block rewards based on their share of computing power.

Fourth, how to earn 1 Bitcoin a day without investment?

It takes money to make money. It is almost impossible to earn Bitcoin without investment, but there are some cheap ways to get involved.

It is almost impossible to earn 1 Bitcoin a day without investment. Bitcoin mining consumes energy, which miners pay through electricity bills. In addition, Bitcoin mining will become increasingly difficult over time. It requires a lot of electricity and specialized, expensive hardware.

For individuals, it is almost difficult to mine 1 Bitcoin a day, even with huge expenditures. Anyone who wants to mine Bitcoin must compete with powerful mining operations whose economies of scale give them a significant competitive advantage over individual miners.

As of May 6, 2024, 1 Bitcoin is worth $64,116. Earning this much per day without investing any money would seriously destabilize the cryptocurrency market. Therefore, beware of websites or programs that claim to help you earn 1 Bitcoin per day for free. These are usually scams designed to take advantage of those looking for a quick return.

Those who want to invest in cryptocurrency mining should first learn about cryptocurrency trading, blockchain technology, and the cryptocurrency market. Over time, they may be able to use the right information and methods to turn a small investment into a large sum of money.