What Is Bitcoin Mining?

ByVictor February 3, 2026February 3, 2026

mining bitcoin

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📅 Last updated: February 2026

📋 En bref (TL;DR)

Bitcoin mining : process of validating transactions and creating new BTC using specialized computers (ASICs)
Current reward : 3.125 BTC per block (~$320,000), halved every 4 years (halving)
Profitability : rarely profitable at home — requires electricity < $0.05/kWh and expensive equipment ($5,000-15,000)
Pools recommended : joining a mining pool ensures regular income vs solo mining (nearly impossible)
Environmental impact : 160 TWh/year (~0.5% global), but 50%+ renewable energy according to Bitcoin Mining Council

💡 What Is Bitcoin Mining?

Bitcoin mining is the process by which transactions are verified and recorded on the blockchain. When you send Bitcoin to someone, that transaction must be validated — this is the job of miners.

🧠 Simple analogy:
Mining is like a digital notary who verifies everything is in order before stamping the document and permanently archiving it.

This work is performed by people called miners, who use very powerful computers to solve complex calculations. In exchange for this service, they can earn Bitcoin.

📊 By the numbers: The Bitcoin mining industry generates approximately $56 million per day, or over $13 billion annually worldwide.

🔁 How Does Bitcoin Mining Work?

The Bitcoin mining process follows five main steps:

Transactions are grouped into a block — each block contains approximately 2,000 transactions.
Miners verify everything is correct — they ensure no one is attempting to spend the same Bitcoin twice (double spending).
They solve a mathematical puzzle — called proof of work, this step requires considerable computing power measured in hashrate.
The first miner to solve the puzzle adds the block to the blockchain — a new block is added approximately every 10 minutes.
The winning miner receives a Bitcoin reward — currently 3.125 BTC per block.

📘 The Bitcoin blockchain is like a large public and immutable ledger. Each new block is added after the previous one, creating a tamper-proof chain of blocks. Since its creation in 2009, more than 880,000 blocks have been mined.

🧍♂️ What Is the Role of Miners?

Miners are the guardians of the Bitcoin network. Without them, the system could not function in a decentralized manner. Their mission consists of three essential responsibilities:

Verify transactions to prevent fraud and double spending
Add blocks to the blockchain securely
Secure the network by contributing computing power (hashrate)

📊 Notable fact: Today, only 7 major mining companies control nearly 80% of the computing power on the Bitcoin network. This concentration raises questions about decentralization, although the protocol remains technically open to everyone.

🎁 What Is the Miners’ Reward?

When a miner successfully adds a block to the blockchain, they earn two types of income:

The block reward — newly created Bitcoin (block subsidy)
Transaction fees — paid by users sending Bitcoin

💰 Current figures (February 2026):

Block reward: 3.125 BTC (since the April 2024 halving)
Approximate value: ~$320,000 per block (depending on price)
Average transaction fees: between 0.1 and 0.5 BTC per block
Average time between blocks: 10 minutes
New BTC created daily: ~450 BTC (144 blocks × 3.125 BTC)

📉 The halving: The block reward is cut in half every 210,000 blocks (~4 years). This deflationary mechanism limits the total number of Bitcoin to 21 million units. The next halving is expected in 2028 (reward: 1.5625 BTC). The last Bitcoin will be mined around the year 2140.

💸 Is Mining Profitable in 2026?

Mining profitability depends on several factors. Here are the key elements to evaluate before investing:

Factor	Impact on Profitability
💡 Electricity cost	Machines run 24/7. In most Western countries (~$0.15/kWh), home mining is unprofitable. Pro miners pay $0.03-0.05/kWh.
🖥 Equipment (ASIC)	An Antminer S21 (~390 TH/s) costs $5,000-8,000 and consumes ~3,500W. Lifespan: 3-5 years.
🔧 Network difficulty	Increased by +50% in 2025. The higher the global hashrate, the less each miner earns.
📈 Bitcoin price	At $100,000, mining is 3x more profitable than at $30,000. Volatility is a major risk.
🌡️ Climate & cooling	Cold countries (Canada, Iceland) save on cooling. In hot areas, +20% costs.

📊 Real calculation: With a 390 TH/s ASIC consuming 7,215W and electricity at $0.05/kWh, it would statistically take 5,974 days (over 16 years) to mine 1 Bitcoin solo. That’s why pools are essential.

⚠️ Market reality: Profitable miners in 2026 are primarily publicly traded companies (Marathon Digital, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark) with access to electricity below $0.04/kWh and economies of scale. Home mining is only viable with nearly free electricity (excess solar, industrial contracts).

🧱 How Does Mining Difficulty Work?

The Bitcoin network automatically adjusts mining difficulty every 2,016 blocks (approximately two weeks). The goal is to maintain a consistent block time of approximately 10 minutes, regardless of the total network computing power.

Adjustment mechanism:

If blocks are mined too quickly (many miners joining) → difficulty increases
If blocks are mined too slowly (miners leaving) → difficulty decreases
Maximum adjustment: ±300% per period (protection against manipulation)

📊 Historical evolution: Bitcoin mining difficulty has multiplied by over 10 trillion since 2009. In 2010, a laptop could mine dozens of BTC per day. Today, it would take thousands of years with the same equipment.

🖥 What Equipment Do You Need to Mine Bitcoin?

Mining equipment has evolved considerably since 2009. Here are the three generations and their efficiency:

ASICs: The Only Profitable Choice

ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) are machines designed exclusively for Bitcoin mining. They can do nothing else but are ultra-optimized for this task.

Popular 2026 models: Bitmain Antminer S21 (390 TH/s), MicroBT Whatsminer M60S (186 TH/s)
Price: $5,000 to $15,000 depending on power
Consumption: 3,000 to 5,000W (equivalent to 2-3 electric heaters)
Noise: 70-80 dB (equivalent to a permanent vacuum cleaner)
Lifespan: 3-5 years before obsolescence

CPU and GPU: Obsolete for Bitcoin

Processors (CPUs) and graphics cards (GPUs) are no longer viable for Bitcoin mining since 2013. The efficiency difference is enormous:

Modern CPU: ~0.0001 TH/s — millions of times less powerful than an ASIC
High-end GPU: ~0.1 GH/s — totally inefficient against ASICs
GPU usefulness: still relevant for other cryptos (Ethereum Classic, Ravencoin)

🎯 Expert advice: “Home Bitcoin mining is only viable if you have access to very cheap electricity, typically below $0.05/kWh, and if you can handle the noise and heat generated by the machines” — Jaran Mellerud, analyst at Hashrate Index.

👤 Mining Solo or in a Pool?

🚶♂️ Solo Mining: Very Low Probability Lottery

Solo mining means you attempt to solve blocks by yourself, without sharing the reward with other miners.

Advantages:

You keep 100% of the reward (3.125 BTC + fees) if you find a block
No pool fees
Total independence

Disadvantages:

Tiny probability: with 1 ASIC, your chances of finding a block are about 1 in 1 million per year
Near-zero income for potentially years
Extreme variance: all or nothing

👥 Mining Pools: Regular and Predictable Income

A mining pool is a group of miners who combine their hashrate. Rewards are distributed proportionally to each participant’s contribution.

Advantages:

Daily and predictable income
Accessible even with a single ASIC
Drastic reduction in variance

Disadvantages:

Pool fees: generally 1-3% of earnings
Dependence on pool operator

📊 Major pools in 2026:

Foundry USA: ~30% of global hashrate
Antpool (Bitmain): ~18%
F2Pool: ~12%
ViaBTC: ~11%
Binance Pool: ~8%

🤝 Recommendation: For 99.9% of miners, joining a pool is the only rational strategy. Solo mining only makes sense for very large farms with several % of global hashrate.

🌍 Mining and the Environment

Bitcoin mining consumes a significant amount of electricity. This topic deserves nuanced analysis beyond sensationalist headlines.

📊 Key consumption figures:

Annual consumption: ~160 TWh (comparable to Argentina or Poland)
Global share: ~0.5% of worldwide electricity consumption
Per transaction: ~1,200 kWh (equivalent to ~100,000 Visa transactions)
CO2 emissions: ~65 megatons/year (comparable to Greece)

Important nuances:

✅ Renewable energy: According to the Bitcoin Mining Council, 52.6% of mining uses renewable sources (hydroelectric, solar, wind)
✅ Relative efficiency: Bitcoin is reportedly 56 times more efficient than the traditional banking system according to some studies
✅ Surplus utilization: Mining uses otherwise wasted energy (flare gas, hydroelectric surplus)
⚠️ Transaction comparison: Not relevant as Bitcoin secures a store of value, not just payment flows

💬 Expert quote: “Bitcoin mining acts as an electricity buyer of last resort, which can help finance renewable energy projects in isolated areas where there would be no other economic outlet” — Daniel Batten, ESG analyst specializing in Bitcoin.

✅ Key Takeaways

Mining is the process of validating transactions and creating new Bitcoin
Miners use specialized machines (ASICs) to solve cryptographic puzzles
The current reward is 3.125 BTC per block (since the April 2024 halving)
Home mining is generally not profitable without electricity < $0.05/kWh
Joining a mining pool is recommended for regular income
Environmental impact is real but nuanced — over 50% renewable energy

📚 Glossary

Bitcoin : First decentralized cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Operates on a public blockchain secured by mining.
Blockchain : Distributed and immutable digital ledger that records all Bitcoin transactions in cryptographically linked blocks.
Mining : Process of validating transactions and creating new bitcoins by solving complex mathematical problems.
Miner : Person or entity participating in mining by providing computing power to secure the network.
Block : Set of transactions grouped and validated, added to the blockchain approximately every 10 minutes.
Transaction : Transfer of bitcoins from one address to another, permanently recorded on the blockchain.
Proof of Work : Consensus mechanism used by Bitcoin where miners must prove they’ve performed computational work to validate a block.
Hashrate : Total computing power of the network or a miner, measured in hashes per second (TH/s, EH/s).
Halving : Scheduled event that cuts the block reward in half every 210,000 blocks (~4 years), limiting total supply to 21 million BTC.
Block reward : Newly created bitcoins awarded to the miner who validates a block (currently 3.125 BTC).
Difficulty : Parameter automatically adjusted every 2,016 blocks to maintain an average block time of 10 minutes.
ASIC : Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, specialized machine designed only for mining a specific algorithm (SHA-256 for Bitcoin).
Mining pool : Group of miners who combine their computing power and share rewards proportionally to their contribution.
Double spending : Fraudulent attempt to use the same bitcoins in two different transactions, prevented by mining.
Decentralization : Characteristic of a network without central authority, where power is distributed among all participants.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin?

With a high-performance ASIC (390 TH/s) mining solo, it would statistically take over 16 years to mine 1 Bitcoin. In a pool, you receive fractions of Bitcoin daily, proportional to your contribution to the pool’s total hashrate.

Is Bitcoin mining legal?

In most countries including the US, EU, and UK, Bitcoin mining is completely legal. Mining income is taxable and must be reported according to local tax regulations. Some countries like China have banned mining, while others like El Salvador actively encourage it.

Can you mine Bitcoin with a regular computer?

Technically yes, but it’s completely unprofitable. A standard computer produces about 0.0001 TH/s versus 390 TH/s for a modern ASIC. You would spend thousands of dollars on electricity without ever earning a cent. CPU/GPU mining hasn’t been viable since 2013.

What's the difference between mining and staking?

Mining (Proof of Work) uses computing power to validate transactions — this is Bitcoin’s system. Staking (Proof of Stake) locks up cryptocurrency as collateral to participate in validation — this is Ethereum’s system since 2022. Staking consumes ~99% less energy than mining.

How much does it cost to mine one Bitcoin?

The cost varies enormously depending on electricity price. With an efficient ASIC and electricity at $0.05/kWh, the production cost is approximately $15,000-20,000 per BTC. In countries with residential electricity at ~$0.15/kWh, this cost exceeds $50,000, making home mining unprofitable.

What is a mining pool and how does it work?

A mining pool is a group of miners who combine their computing power to increase their chances of finding a block. When the pool finds a block, the reward is shared among all members proportionally to their contribution. Pool fees are generally 1-3%.

Is Bitcoin mining bad for the environment?

The impact is nuanced. Mining consumes ~160 TWh/year (0.5% of global electricity), but over 50% comes from renewable energy. Mining can also utilize otherwise wasted energy surpluses and finance renewable energy projects in isolated areas.

📰 Sources

This article is based on the following sources:

Comment citer cet article : Fibo Crypto. (2026). What Is Bitcoin Mining?. Consulté le 4 February 2026 sur https://fibo-crypto.fr/en/blog/what-is-bitcoin-mining