What is Bitcoin Mining?

Bitcoin mining serves three purposes:

1. Processing transactions

2. Securing the network

3. Issuing new Bitcoin

Bitcoin mining builds the blockchain by discovering new blocks and joining them to the previous ones, keeping track of all transactions, and verifying new transactions. Successful miners are rewarded with newly minted Bitcoin and the transaction fees for the transactions included in their block. Together, these amounts represent the “block reward.” Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin to be released at a predictable rate: every 210,000 blocks, the reward for finding a new block decreases by half. The current set of 210,000 blocks will reward miners 6.25 BTC per block. The last bitcoin could be mined sometime around 2130.

River Mining

River Mining enables clients to own Bitcoin miners, which River procures and hosts in co-location facilities (data centers) for clients. Bitcoin mining can be a way for individuals to acquire Bitcoin for less than it would cost to buy Bitcoin on the open market. At this time, new and existing clients are able to secure mining machines that River procures and hosts on clients' behalf. Terms and conditions apply. For more information on River Mining, please check out this article on our Knowledge Base.