- Buy a computer to mine Bitcoin
Bitcoin mining (Bitcoin: Bitcoin) is a very competitive activity. The difficulty to mine increases every day, as more and more miners come on board with state-of-the-art mining equipment. Even before starting to mine bitcoins, you need to prepare well. This means that you need to know if mining bitcoins is even profitable for you. The best way to do this is by using a Bitcoin mining calculator. Simply enter the details of the miner you are planning to buy and see how long it will take to cover the expenses or get a benefit. However, if you do not have several hundred dollars to spend, you probably can not 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 it 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 wallet. Since it is an Internet-based currency, you need a place to store your bitcoins. Once you have a purse make sure you get an address for it. It will be a long sequence of letters and numbers. Each wallet has a different way of obtaining the public Bitcoin 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 (that is, you downloaded a program to your computer and you are not using an Internet service) there is a very important additional 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 portfolio here. The reason is that if you block the 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 money in 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 earn bitcoins, it's best to join a mining group or pool. It is a group of Bitcoin miners who combine their computing 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 and easier to solve algorithms and all your combined work will give you more possibilities to solve the larger algorithm and earn bitcoins that spread through the group based on your contribution. Basically, you will earn a more consistent amount of bitcoins and you will be more likely to receive a good return on your investment. When you join 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 will you receive a reward)? How are the 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 the mining groups within the Bitcoin wiki. For example, consider a mining group such as Slush's Pool. Once you have registered online, you will receive a username and password for that specific group that you will need later to enter to work in this group. Follow the link to go to their 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 fundamentals covered, you are 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 have to find the right software. Many mining groups have their own software such as 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
