In 2022, Bitcoin has become one of the most popular investment objects for retail investors. While in the past Bitcoin was only an insider tip of a small community, in the current year it is an attractive method to invest your money. In addition to an investment, many people have also earned money with Bitcoin mining in recent years. But in the meantime, mining has become more difficult. How long will it take to mine Bitcoin in 2022?
In this article, we want to discuss how mining has changed in recent years and how long will it take to mine a Bitcoin in 2022?
What is Bitcoin Mining?
Bitcoin mining is a process in which new transactions for the Bitcoin currency system are verified on the Bitcoin blockchain and as a result new Bitcoins are put into circulation.
On the Bitcoin blockchain, the transactions carried out within the monetary system are recorded in the form of blocks. A continuous chain of blocks forms the well-known blockchain. The blockchain contains the records of past transactions.
Miners use software to solve algorithms related to the transactions. These algorithms have the task of verifying the transactions. The solution of these complex computing operations is rewarded by the Bitcoin network in the form of new Bitcoins for the miner.
How does Bitcoin Mining work?
Bitcoin mining involves solving complex mathematical tasks to verify transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. The miners receive the transaction data of the blockchain and run it through a cryptographic algorithm. A so-called hash is generated, which is integrated into the next block.
In this article, we have described the process of Bitcoin mining in a little more detail. In general, it can be said that this process requires a certain hardware, know-how and high energy consumption. In the past, many individual miners were able to mine from home and earn Bitcoins as rewards. With the increase in the length of the blockchain, mining is becoming more and more difficult and time-consuming, as the number of data continues to increase.
Is Bitcoin mining becoming more and more difficult?
The process of mining a Bitcoin is much more difficult in 2022 than it was 10 years ago. We have already mentioned that Bitcoin mining is becoming more and more complex with the length of the blockchains. Because a longer blockchain requires more and much more complex data to be processed.
What makes it even harder for “small” miners to mine the Bitcoin in this day and age are the lower rewards for mining in the wake of Bitcoin Halvings. A Bitcoin halving is the event where the reward for creating a new block on the blockchain is halved.
The structure of the Bitcoin blockchain is designed to ensure that Bitcoin will become a deflationary asset over time. Because due to the increased difficulty of mining and the lower rewards over time, it becomes more and more difficult to mine the Bitcoin. In total, only 21 million bitcoins can be created in total. As a finite and rare commodity, the value of Bitcoin should increase massively in the future.
What does Bitcoin Halving mean for mining Bitcoin?
As already mentioned, the halving events, which occur about every 4 years, mean that Bitcoin mining is becoming less and less worthwhile, especially for small, individual miners. The fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to mine Bitcoin over time is due to the mentioned structure of the Bitcoin blockchain. The concept of the Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto provides that the difficulty increases to keep the Bitcoin deflationary.
With each halving, the reward for mining new Bitcoins is halved. In recent years, the rewards have halved several times:
- 28.11.2012: 1. Halving – 50 BTC -> 25 BTC
- 09.07.2016: 2. Halving – 25 BTC -> 12,5 BTC
- 11.05.2020: 3. Halving – 12,5 BTC -> 6,25 BTC
In 2024, the next Bitcoin halving will take place. In this article, we will discuss in more detail about the next Bitcoin halving.
How long will it take to mine Bitcoin in 2022?
We have already described the process of Bitcoin mining before. But how long will it take to mine a Bitcoin in 2022?
This question is easy to answer: Regardless of the number of miners, a new block must be added to the Bitcoin blockchain every ten minutes. Bitcoin mining is therefore more of a huge competition. There are hundreds of thousands of miners in the Bitcoin network who make sure that new blocks are added. An important value for the effectiveness of mining activities is the Bitcoin hashrate. Here you can find out more about this characteristic value.
With the current blockchain, an individual miner would take far too long to perform the required computing operations and add a new block. That is why many miners have joined forces in recent years to achieve higher computing power. This resulted in large mining farms that use massive computing power.
Due to the increasing difficulty and the lower rewards in mining, it is now only worthwhile to mine the Bitcoin if you are a miner part of a large association or part of a mining farm. The required computing power is simply too high for the individual miner.
Is mining still going on after the creation of 21 million bitcoins?
Yes, even after creating 21 million Bitcoins, miners can still receive rewards from the Bitcoin blockchain. However, they will no longer receive “block rewards” for creating new blocks. But they still receive the fees for validating the Bitcoin transactions.
Mining will therefore continue to play an extremely important role for the Bitcoin blockchain in the coming years and decades. For this, an ever higher computing power is required. Therefore, it depends on the large associations of miners to maintain the hashrate of Bitcoin.
