“Bitcoins are neither created nor destroyed, but they are discovered!” Do you know how? We bring you this basic guide for the beginner to get started in Bitcoin mining, investing and earning money. Brief manual aimed at individuals or groups who want to get started easily.

‘Get a Bitcoin’ or Mining ‘Rig’

As more miners join in, the difficulty of mining increases. Therefore, it is necessary to find out if Bitcoin (BTC) mining is profitable for you. The best way to do this is by using a Bitcoin mining calculator. Googling “Bitcoin Mining Calculator” to find dozens of calculators. By entering the data of the Bitcoin miner, you intend to buy you can see how long it would take you to get a profit.

Once you’ve finished calculating, it’s time to get the miner. Be sure to check out different opinions on internet about Bitcoin mining hardware to understand which miner is best for you. Reddit is one of the best communities for this.

In the past it was possible to extract Bitcoins with a computer or with a graphics card (GPU mining). But the mining niche has become so competitive that you’ll have to use ASIC miners to mine Bitcoin.

Get a Bitcoin wallet

You must get a Bitcoin wallet. You need a place to keep your Bitcoins. Once you have a wallet, be sure to get wallet address, it will be a long sequence of letters and numbers. In order to trade you must offer or request this address. Remember: NEVER PASSWORDS!

Find a mining group and pool

Is good to have a group of miners. A group of miners combine the power of calculation to make more Bitcoins. In a group, you have smaller and easier algorithms to solve and all the work combined will make it more likely to solve the larger algorithm and earn Bitcoins, which are split among the group members according to contribution. Basically, you’ll get a more consistent amount of Bitcoins and be more likely to get a good return on your investment.

Now you need a pool where you can mine Bitcoins. Once you have registered with a Mining Pool, you will get a username and password. Once you have set up your account, you will need to add a “Worker”. Basically, for every miner you are running, you will need to have a worker ID so that the group can track your contributions.

Get a mining program for your computer

Now that you’ve got the basics covered, we’re almost ready to mine. You will need a mining client running on your computer to be able to control and monitor your mining equipment. Depending on what mining equipment you have, you will need to find the right software. Many mining groups have their own software, but others do not.

For example, if you are using a Mac, you can use a program called MacMiner. There are other popular PC programs like BFGMiner, 50Miner, Minergate, among others.

Start mining

Plug your miner into a power outlet and turn it on. Make sure you also connect it to your computer (usually via USB) and open the mining software. The first thing you need to do is log in to your mining group with your username and password.

Once you’ve set it up, you can basically start mining Bitcoin. You will start by collecting shares, which represent your part of the work in the search for the next block. You will be paid for your shares of the coins depending on the pool that you are operating in.