The truth about Bitcoin mining: contemporary miners are still maintaining this decentralized ledger system like a "captain's broadcast"

Are people still mining today? What exactly is mining?

In the contemporary crypto market, Bitcoin mining has not disappeared; on the contrary, its scale and professionalism have far surpassed the early days. Many people mistakenly believe that mining is a thing of the past, but as long as the Bitcoin network is running, miners will inevitably be maintaining its operation.

The essence of mining is not mysterious—simply put, it is the process of “performing work for the Bitcoin network and earning rewards.” Since Bitcoin has no central bank or management agency, billions of transactions every day still require verification, bookkeeping, and prevention of double spending. The ones executing this work are miners.

The core responsibilities of miners include three aspects:

• Verifying the legality of each transaction
• Packing transactions into new “blocks” and adding them to the public Bitcoin blockchain ledger
• Maintaining the security of the entire network system to prevent malicious attacks

Modern miners are not holding shovels but are operating thousands of specially designed computers—ASIC miners (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), optimized specifically for mining calculations.

How does mining work: from transaction verification to block creation

The challenges and solutions of decentralized ledger accounting

In traditional banking systems, the central ledger is managed by banks. Bitcoin, however, has no centralized “boss”; anyone can become a potential ledger keeper. The problem then arises: when everyone is recording transactions simultaneously, which ledger should be trusted as the true one?

Mining mechanisms were created to solve this contradiction. All miners collect new transactions from the network within a similar timeframe, verify each one (confirming the sender has sufficient funds, preventing double spending, etc.), and, upon approval, pack them into a new block. Then, a race begins—“who can find a specific number that meets the criteria” the fastest—whoever wins can officially write their block into the blockchain. Other miners must accept this ledger, and the entire network moves into the next round of competition.

This competition’s core rule relies on the SHA-256 hash function.

The hash function and the technical foundation of mining competitions

Think of a hash function as a “data meat grinder”: regardless of what input information (all transaction data within the block + the hash of the previous block + a freely adjustable random number called “nonce”) is fed in, it outputs a fixed-length ciphertext.

SHA-256 has three key properties:

• It can only be derived from the original data; reversing it is nearly impossible
• Changing even a single bit in the original data completely alters the hash result
• In theory, there are no two different data sets that produce the same hash

Bitcoin’s rules are relatively simple: the hash value calculated by the miner must be less than the system-set “target value.” If it doesn’t meet the criteria, the miner changes the nonce and recalculates. Millions of miners worldwide keep trying this until they hit the target.

Difficulty adjustment mechanism: why Bitcoin won’t be “mined out all at once”

Bitcoin’s design includes a sophisticated rhythm control system:

In theory, a new block should be generated every 10 minutes. The system checks the recent block production speed approximately every two weeks—if upgraded mining equipment causes the speed to be too fast, the system increases the difficulty; if the hash power drops, the difficulty is relaxed accordingly. This automatic adjustment ensures Bitcoin’s issuance pace remains stable and won’t be exhausted quickly due to technological advances.

The participant structure of modern mining

Mining participants have evolved from early “a few computers at home” to a highly professionalized industry structure:

Individuals and small miners
A few individuals still participate in mining, but most join mining pools instead of mining solo, to share risks and stabilize income.

Mining pools
Mining pools aggregate the computing power of miners worldwide, increasing the chances of successfully mining a block. When a block is found, the system distributes rewards proportionally based on each miner’s contribution, making income more stable and predictable.

Professional mining farms and companies
The main force of contemporary mining. These operators build data centers, deploy large-scale ASIC miners, and carefully control electricity and cooling costs, turning mining into a truly industrialized operation.

The reality of mining rewards

Sources of income

Under the Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism, miners earn two types of rewards:

Block rewards (newly issued bitcoins)
Each time a block is successfully mined, the miner receives a fixed amount of new bitcoins. This is the only way Bitcoin is “created”—not through arbitrary issuance, but in exchange for computational work.

Transaction fees
Each transaction carries a fee, which is collected by the miner who successfully mines the block. During periods of high network traffic, fee income can even surpass the block reward.

Whether mining profits are realizable depends on multiple factors

Many newcomers mistakenly think, “As long as I start mining, I will definitely profit.” The reality is much more complex; whether profits are achievable depends on several specific conditions:

Electricity costs
Mining essentially converts electrical energy into potential profits. High electricity prices → high costs → likely losses. This is why mining farms tend to set up in regions with cheap or surplus energy.

Equipment investment and efficiency
Today, Bitcoin mining is dominated by ASIC miners; ordinary computers or graphics cards have long lost competitiveness. Equipment costs are high and depreciate quickly; inefficient machines are almost impossible to recoup costs from.

Mining difficulty and total network hash rate
As more people enter the mining field, the network automatically increases difficulty—meaning “rewards become harder to obtain.” The output of individual machines will inevitably decrease.

Price fluctuations
Mining profits are ultimately calculated in terms of the coin’s price. When the price rises, the same output is worth more; when the price falls, many miners directly become “selling electricity at a loss.”

The practical risks faced by mining

Economic risks are the most direct

Mining is not “turn on and immediately earn.” The real factors affecting profitability include:

• Electricity costs as the primary variable—high electricity prices almost guarantee losses
• High upfront equipment costs and rapid depreciation
• Increasing difficulty leading to gradually lower single-machine output
• During poor market conditions, a sharp drop in coin price can wipe out profits or cause huge losses

Many failed miners are not defeated by technology but by costs and market pressures.

Hardware and technical challenges

Mining demands strict hardware and operational environment requirements:

• Miners operate under high load for extended periods, with failure rates much higher than regular computers
• Cooling and noise issues can cause operational difficulties, even leading to disputes in residential areas
• Maintenance costs are staggering; often not worth repairing

Policy and regulatory uncertainties

Mining involves electricity resources, energy policies, and financial regulation. Some regions even ban mining activities outright. Environmental policy shifts or government attitude changes can turn “mineable” into “not mineable,” posing real risks for enterprise-scale farms.

Platform and system-related risks

Although Bitcoin’s mechanism is mature, real-world risks still exist:

• Mining pool failures or mismanagement
• Collateral platform hacking or data leaks
• Network instability causing revenue loss

Individual miners usually rely on mining pools; if the partner faces issues, earnings are immediately affected.

Hidden opportunity costs

Mining may seem like “passive income,” but in reality, it requires ongoing management, monitoring, maintenance, and strategic adjustments. With limited capital, time, and effort, mining may not be the best choice for everyone.

Conclusion

Bitcoin mining is like an endless “pilot broadcast”—continuously reporting transaction verification and block creation progress to the entire network. Today’s miners are far larger than in the early days, and their operations are highly professionalized.

However, profitability in mining is not guaranteed—multiple factors such as electricity, equipment, difficulty, and coin price determine the final outcome. For those considering entering this field, thorough cost assessment and risk awareness are crucial.