Investing in Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies is a very popular option in recent years, especially because some of them already have a great price with the potential to become even more valuable in the future. The biggest hype related to Bitcoin was a few years ago when it reached the price near 20,000$. However, since all cryptocurrencies are subjects of frequent fluctuation, the current price of it is around 9,000$. Nevertheless, it is still a competitive price, and people who managed to gain Bitcoin a few years ago can still gain profit. Also, the demand can affect the value, which is the main reason why its price fell to be only around 3,500$ in 2019, but that only lasted for a short period, and then it continued to rise.
Furthermore, while the most popular method of getting a Bitcoin is buying it, another way to get one is through the mining process. For a long time, mining was the best and most profitable way of getting cryptocurrencies. However, this process is much harder in recent years because there is a limitation for the final number of Bitcoins, which is going to be 21 million, and mining will become harder and harder the closer to the final number it gets. On the other side, that is the main reason why people who rather choose to trade with Bitcoin through various online platforms, such as bitcoins-digital.com, where you can trade with various virtual assets.
However, there are many people still interested in mining as the main option, especially because it represents a much cheaper way than simply buying it, but there are some factors that are affecting the speed and effectiveness of the process. In this article, we are going to analyze more about how long it takes to mine Bitcoin.
Mining Process
The main source of mining is a blockchain technology that is using a block of codes to create a unique network that is providing the whole system. Miners are people who are using their computers to verify every transaction and add a block of code on it for advanced protection. Whenever you put a code on a blockchain, the system will reward you with tokens that can be converted into Bitcoin. The most important thing related to the proper mining process is a PC, which needs to be specially designed for mining since regular CPU cannot handle all those operations that are made during the processes. You will need a special chip for mining, and some of the best producers of that sort of equipment are Avalon, Bitmain, Halong, and Pangolin.
Mining Pools
One of the most effective ways to successfully mine Bitcoin is to join some mining pool, where you will share the reward for placing blocks of codes and share a minimum of 4% to become able to mine and earn Bitcoin. On the other hand, there is no particular period for mining 1 BTC, since it depends on the mining pool that you choose, and the quality of your equipment. The most popular and effective mining pools are Antpool, BTC.com, Slush Pool, BW mining pool, and F2 pool.
Antpool is using Bitmain technology and represents one of the most popular mining options today. Also, it is a very simple platform with free registration. BTC.com is using its own pool ap along with the BTC Smart Agent, and here the fee is required, which amount is 1.5%. Slush Pool is a company from the Chech Republic, and it is using Satoshi Labs software. This pool has mined more than 10% of all Bitcoins today. Moreover, this platform is charging a 2% fee from payouts. BW is another great mining pool that is connecting miners from the whole world. They are also charging around 2% in fees. The most interesting fact about the F2 pool is that you can choose to mine by yourself, but you should be aware that it is possible only with the high-end hardware especially produced for this purpose.
Cost of Mining 1 BTC
Besides buying the necessary equipment that costs at least around 3,000$, the biggest expenses are related to big electricity bills. Because of that, the final cost of mining 1 Bitcoin is different from country to country, depending on how high is the cost of electricity there. For example, it is not profitable to mine BTC in countries such as Denmark, Germany, Belgium, or the Solomon Islands, because you will spend around 13,000$ or 14,000$ only to mine 1 BTC. Also, the worst country for the mining process is South Korea, where you will have to spend more than 25,000$.
On the other side, we can see that there is a rise in creating big centers that are full of equipment for mining in countries where electricity is much cheaper. In Europe, the best countries for this process are Ukraine, Serbia, and Belarus, with Ukraine as the cheapest one, and you will need around 1,800$ in electricity to mine 1BTC. Moreover, there are many other countries where you can make a profit out of mining and the current leader is Venezuela, with only little more than 500$ in electricity bills.
Time to Mine a Bitcoin
Many factors can affect the speed of the process, and that is the reason why no one can predict the exact period for mining 1 BTC. If you are part of some mining pool where all of you are sharing the same high-quality equipment, it will take around 10 minutes to build one block of code. Each block reward the miners with 6.25 BTC. Also, this process was much more profitable before the last mining, and the reward for a block was 12.5 BTC. Moreover, when the next halving occurs, the reward will become even smaller, with 3.125 BTC. The next halving will be in 2024.
Conclusion
According to some researches and experts in this field, it is expected that the price of Bitcoin will become much higher in the future. Some of them have a prediction about the price of over 150,000$. Also, many countries have a plan to completely regulate Bitcoin and allow people to use it as regular fiat money. In that matter, it seems like this is the best time to own a Bitcoin and hold it until it reaches a bigger value. When it comes to mining, it still represents a great method for gaining this digital currency, but only in the case that you have the proper equipment, and not wasting too much on high electricity bills.