How to Mine Bitcoins: Beginner's Guide

Buy a team to mine Bitcoin
The mining of Bitcoin (Bitcoin: Bitcoin) is a very competitive activity. The difficulty of mining increases every day, as more and more miners come on board with state-of-the-art mining equipment. Even before you start mining bitcoins, you need to prepare well. This means you need to know if mincing bitcoins is even profitable for you. The best way to do this is by using a Bitcoin mining calculator. Simply enter the data of the miner you are planning to buy and see how long it will take to cover expenses or make a profit. However, if you do not have several hundred dollars to spend you probably will not be able to undermine any Bitcoin. Once you have finished with your calculations it is time to look for your mining equipment. Be sure to look at the different opinions of Bitcoin mining hardware to know which miner is best for you. Currently, Antminer S9 is the newest and most advanced miner. In the past, it was possible to extract bitcoins with your computer or with a graphics card (also known as GPU mining). Nowadays, however, the mining niche has become so competitive that you will need to use ASIC miners - special computers designed exclusively to mine bitcoins.
Get a Bitcoin wallet

The first thing you have to do is get a "Bitcoin Wallet" or Bitcoin purse. Since it is an internet-based currency, you need a place to store your bitcoins. Once you have a wallet make sure you get an address for it. It will be a long sequence of letters and numbers. Each purse has a different way of getting the Bitcoin public address, but most of them are quite simple. Note that you will need your Bitcoin address and not your private key (which is like a password for your wallet). If you are using a separate wallet (ie you downloaded a program on your computer and you are not using an Internet service) there is an additional important step. Make sure you have a copy of the wallet.dat file on a flash drive, print a copy and keep it in a safe place. You can see a tutorial on how to create a secure wallet here. The reason is that if you lock your computer and do not have a copy of your wallet.dat file, you will lose all your bitcoins. They will not go to another person, they will disappear forever. It's like burning cash.

Look for a mining group

Now that you have a wallet, you're probably ready to start mining, but if you really want to win bitcoins, it's best to join a pool or mining group. It is a group of miners from Bitcoin who combine their computer resources to get more bitcoins. The reason why you should not work alone is that bitcoins are awarded in blocks, usually 12.5 at a time, and unless you are very lucky, you will not get any of those coins. In a mining group, you are given smaller algorithms and easy to solve and all your combined work will give you more chances to solve the larger algorithm and gain bitcoins that span across the group based on your contribution. Basically, you will gain a more consistent amount of bitcoins and you will be more likely to receive a good return on your investment. When joining a mining group, ask yourself the following questions: What is the reward method? What fees do they charge for the withdrawal and withdrawal of funds? How often are blocks found (ie how often you will receive a reward)? How are bitcoins removed? What kind of statistics do they provide? How stable is the group? To answer most of these questions you can use this excellent BitcoinTalk publication. You can also find a detailed comparison of mining groups within the Bitcoin wiki. For example, consider a mining group like Slush's Pool . Once you have registered online, you will receive a username and password for that specific grouping that you will need later to join this group. Follow the link to go to your site, click on "Register Here" at the top of the page and follow their instructions step by step. Once you have set up your account, you must add a "Worker". Basically, for each miner you will need to have a separate identification number so that the group can track their contributions.

Install a mining program on your computer

Now that you have the basics covered, you're almost ready to mine. You will need a mining client to install on your computer and you will be able to control and supervise your mining equipment. Depending on the mining platform you have you will need to find the right software. Many mining groups have their own software like Bitminer but some do not. You can find a list of Bitcoin mining software here. If you are working on a Mac, you can use the MacMiner program . Two of the most popular software for the PC are BFGMiner and 50Miner .

Start mining bitcoins Now that everything should be ready, light up your miner. Be sure to also connect it to your computer (usually via USB) and open your mining software. The first thing to do is to enter your mining group by entering your username and password. Once configured, you can start mining bitcoins. You will start generating blocks that show your participation in the search for the next block. Depending on the group you have chosen you will be paid for your quantity of bitcoins - just make sure you enter your address in the required fields when you join the group.