In a modest bedroom in 2009, programmer Hal Finney turned on his personal computer to become the first person in history to "mine" Bitcoin... The heat emitted from his machine at that time wasn't noticeable, but it was enough to spark the first flame of a financial revolution that would redefine the concept of money. Today, this individual hobby has transformed into a global industry consuming energy that exceeds that of entire countries... So how did this happen?
Mining back then was an adventure for tech enthusiasts: regular computers, minimal profit opportunities, but it carried a revolutionary philosophy: decentralization. Finney could not imagine that his competitors a decade later would be mining farms in Iceland powered by volcanic energy or Chinese individuals hiding ASICs in abandoned mines!
But what exactly is mining? Simply put, it is the process of verifying transactions on the blockchain network and adding them to the public ledger. Miners now use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical problems (called hashing algorithms). The first to solve the problem receives a reward in cryptocurrency.
In Bitcoin, this process is known as "Proof of Work." Imagine it as a global race that repeats approximately every 10 minutes. The winner receives new Bitcoin and transaction fees.
Hal Finney says: "Mining is what makes Bitcoin secure. It transforms electrical energy into digital security."
Over time, mining has become more complex and competitive. Initially, Bitcoin could be mined using regular computers. Today, it requires specialized devices called ASICs, which cost thousands of dollars and consume enormous amounts of electricity... To grasp the scale of this consumption, it is equivalent to the annual consumption of the Philippines, but the current scene is witnessing radical transformations:
- **Mining using flared gas** in oil fields (a solution that reduces emissions by 63%).
- Floating platforms in the ocean powered by hydroelectric energy.
- Companies like **Square** are spending billions to make mining environmentally friendly.
However, this high energy consumption has raised several environmental concerns given that it is gradually increasing every moment, prompting some cryptocurrencies to adopt alternative mechanisms such as "Proof of Stake." In this system, validators are chosen based on the amount of coins they own and put up as collateral, significantly reducing energy consumption.
Samir, an electrical engineer, transformed his small family farm in a rural area into a solar-powered mining center. He says: "The surplus solar energy that was going to waste is now producing digital value."
For beginners, direct mining may not be a viable economic option today. But there are alternatives like mining pools where miners combine their computing power and share rewards, or cloud mining where you rent computing power from a specialized company.
As Andreas Antonopoulos says: "Mining is not just a way to earn cryptocurrency, but a participation in securing a revolutionary global network."
Mining is not just machines making money... It is the heart of the system that protects Bitcoin from counterfeiting and corruption. Yes, it comes at a high cost, but it also drives us to reinvent.
Clean energy.
