This is an opinion editorial by Keaton Reckard, the community engineer at Hiveon, a mining ecosystem that includes an operating system for Bitcoin mining hardware.
Bitcoin mining refers to the process through which new bitcoin is introduced into circulation. The mining process plays a crucial role in confirming new transactions and maintaining the Bitcoin blockchain ledger as an immutable record of transactions. In essence, miners use ASIC hardware to solve complex computational problems, with the first one to find the solution earning a reward of bitcoin before the cycle restarts.
Though Bitcoin mining can be time-consuming, expensive and can yield inconsistent rewards depending on price volatility, it still holds a strong allure for investors drawn to the idea of earning bitcoin as compensation for their efforts. For tech-savvy individuals and hobbyists, mining can be an intriguing opportunity for many different reasons.
As opposed to traditional investment assets, such as standard bank deposits, real estate property or stocks, bitcoin can offer much higher returns. It’s an environmentally-conscious business that can prevent energy waste by utilizing excess energy, such as the natural gas that gets burned during oil extraction, idle wind turbines and surplus energy from hydroelectric or nuclear power plants.
