The cryptocurrency market has seen many ups and downs recently. Bitcoin experienced big rallies in 2021, but 2022 and the first three quarters of 2023 were marked by a downturn. However, 2024 brought surprises with the Bitcoin halving event, pushing Bitcoin to a new all-time high. Now, a few months after the halving, some bearish sentiment has returned to the market, especially influenced by the global market sell-off, leading many to question the future of Bitcoin and whether mining it is still profitable.
However, even in this situation, one question resonates with people who currently can’t afford to buy Bitcoin: How long to mine 1 Bitcoin?
We have good news for you because we will try to answer this question in this article based on more Bitcoin miners’ answers.
First of all, we must consider that Bitcoin mining is no longer what it used to be ten years ago when anyone with a PC could mine Bitcoin. However, nowadays, it is almost impossible to mine Bitcoin because of many factors.
TL;DR
On average, it takes around 10 minutes to mine 1 Bitcoin with ideal hardware. However, the time required to mine 1 BTC depends on your hardware and software, especially the mining power. But if you want to mine BTC with an average PC, you will make 0.000000297 BTC/year.
Read further for a deeper understanding.
Table of contents
- The Process of Mining a Block
- The Evolution of Bitcoin Mining Operations
- What Determines How Long It Takes to Mine One Bitcoin?
- The Role of Mining Hardware and Competition
- Steps to Mine Bitcoin
- What Is the Reward for Mining 1 Bitcoin?
- How Much Does It Cost to Mine One Bitcoin?
- How Much Power Is Needed to Mine 1 Bitcoin a Day?
- How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin Using a PC?
- How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin Using a Smartphone?
- How Many Bitcoins Are Left to Mine?
- What Happens After All the Bitcoins Have Been Mined?
- Is Bitcoin Mining Profitable in 2024?
- FAQ
- In Conclusion
The Process of Mining a Block
Unlike earlier years, nowadays, the process of mining Bitcoin can be best explored in terms of mining cryptocurrency blocks, as opposed to single units, such as one Bitcoin block. The reason is simple: new Bitcoins are only mined whenever a new block on the Bitcoin blockchain is validated.
Block mining requires solving a complex encrypted function, also known as a hash. The first miner to validate a new block gets a reward (also known as block reward) – which is currently 3.125 BTC since April 2024, when Bitcoin halving occurred, down from 6.25 BTC.
The Evolution of Bitcoin Mining Operations
First, There Was CPU Mining
During Bitcoin’s initial phase in 2009, the first miners used ordinary multi-core CPUs, as there was no other mining software available at that time to generate BTC at a rate of 50 per block. Satoshi’s idea of “one CPU—one vote” was practical because only CPUs were being used for the Bitcoin mining process.
With a few computers having decent specifications, users could earn up to $5 daily. The difficulty of Bitcoin mining was low at that time, making it feasible for cryptocurrency enthusiasts to participate. In other words, anyone with a passion for crypto and some spare computer resources could make a small profit by mining Bitcoin in their free time.
The first official Bitcoin miner was Bitcoin Core, which used CPUs for mining.
Then, GPU Mining Emerged
After a while, the first GPU miner was developed, which increased the mining speed significantly. Consequently, GPU mining became more popular than CPU mining.
ArtForz is believed to have developed the first GPU miner and mined the first block with his GPU farm on July 18th, 2010. Later, BitcoinTalk member Puddinpop released the first publicly available GPU mining software.
In 2012, the first ASIC projects appeared, and ASIC miners took over the Bitcoin blockchain, making GPU mining outdated and counterproductive.
What Determines How Long It Takes to Mine One Bitcoin?
It takes a lot of work to determine how long it takes to mine 1 Bitcoin because it depends on several factors. Notably, computational power, competition, and the hardware used are significant determinants. Nonetheless, the hashing power is the consistent factor determining how long it takes to mine 1 BTC.
Therefore, it takes around 10 minutes to mine BTC in an ideal situation. However, most mining conditions and environments are far from perfect. For example, while it was possible to start mining bitcoins alone using your personal computer, things have now changed because of recent technological developments.
The Bitcoin mining work now requires a lot of electricity and hardware far beyond most of us. This ultimately affects your mining speed. So, if you are mining solo, your mining duration will likely be more than 10 minutes.
The Role of Mining Hardware and Competition
What Equipment Do You Need to Mine Bitcoins?
Simply put, the equipment required for mining Bitcoin depends on your goal. As we mentioned before, you have various types of hardware you can use, including CPUs, GPUs, and ASICs.
To find the best options for your needs, consider the following:
- CPUs are cheaper but slower and consume more electricity;
- GPUs are a bit more expensive but are more efficient. However, they still consume pretty much;
- ASICs are even more expensive but significantly more efficient.
Besides the mining hardware, you will also need specific software. This will simply help you link the hardware you got to the actual mining process. According to Forbes Advisor, among the best Bitcoin mining software, you will find CGMiner, Awesome Miner, EasyMiner, Kryptex, and ECOS.
To start mining Bitcoin, you will also need a crypto wallet that supports the coin. This way, you will have a place where to safely store your rewards.
Last but not least, consider that a solo miner may not earn so many or significant rewards. Thus, here are some other options to weigh when you start mining Bitcoin:
Mining Pools
As already mentioned, operating a solo mining enterprise may be not only expensive but also time-consuming. Another approach to Bitcoin mining is a mining pool. Any mining pool that adopts the latest hardware (and the best mining pools usually do) has a higher chance of being the first to mine a block within the ideal time frame of 10 minutes.
A mining pool refers to a collaborative effort of cryptocurrency miners who pool their computing resources together via a network in order to enhance their chances of successfully mining for cryptocurrency.
Mining Rigs
Also, a mining rig with higher performance and computing abilities can streamline the process of mining Bitcoin.
A mining rig is a computer that is customized for cryptocurrency mining. Also, the most commonly used mining rig is for Bitcoin mining, the Bitcoin network being the largest worldwide.
CPUs are easy to install and configure. However, you have to get multi-core processors or CPUs with several motherboards for enhanced performance. CPUs were initially used for Bitcoin mining, but the emergence of GPU, FPGA, and ASIC relegated them to certain altcoins.
Currently, miners mostly use ASIC hardware devices to mine Bitcoin. These chips are specifically tailored to mine BTC based on Bitcoin’s SHA-256 hashing algorithm. Therefore, using other less optimized hardware will make competing with mining pools that use ASIC technology very difficult.
Steps to Mine Bitcoin
To start mining Bitcoin, you first have to learn how it works and choose suitable hardware and software. Then, all you have to do is:
- Set up the mining hardware;
- Create a Bitcoin wallet;
- Connect the hardware with the software you chose to use;
- Decide whether you opt for solo mining. If not, look for a mining pool to join or consider cloud mining and other types of mining that are more profitable than mining on your own;
- Start mining.
What Is the Reward for Mining 1 Bitcoin?
The reward for mining 1 BTC is calculated by also taking into consideration the electricity consumption for the process. Depending on the region you are in and the hardware you use, mining 1 BTC has a specific profitability.
There are various calculators that help you get a better view of how profitable mining Bitcoin is.
Still, to get a clearer answer to this question, imagine that the block reward now reaches 3.125 BTC. In the Bitcoin ecosystem, rewards work based on a “the winner takes it all concept.” So, if you mine one block, you’ll get the whole block reward. Still, things change when we’re talking about mining pools.
How Much Does It Cost to Mine One Bitcoin?
At the time of updating this article (August 2024), the cost of mining a single Bitcoin is about $73,186, according to MacroMicro. Of course, this cost can vary depending on several aspects, the most common being related to the price of energy in the region where it is mined and the equipment used.
How Much Power Is Needed to Mine 1 Bitcoin a Day?
It’s quite hard to say how much power you would need to mine 1 BTC a day. But thanks to a Bitcoin mining calculator, we can approximate that you would need 510000 TH/s in computing power. That translates into around 257 Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro+ Hyd (198Th).
How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin Using a PC?
The short answer is that it would probably take roughly 2 million years to mine 1 Bitcoin with a PC. And that is if you manage to squeeze 500 MH/s out of it in a Bitcoin mining pool without any network condition changes.
How is that so? Well, the average block generation time for the Bitcoin network is 10 minutes, and the block reward is 3.125 BTC. However, remember there are huge mining farms currently that mine for BTC.
The mining speed depends on the type of Bitcoin mining hardware you use. Suppose you use a high-end gaming computer to mine Bitcoin with today’s computing requirements and can squeeze out 500 MH/s. In that case, you might earn BTC 0.000000297/year in perfect conditions.
How Long Does It Take to Mine 1 Bitcoin Using a Smartphone?
Calculating the hash rate of a smartphone is especially tricky as they’re not designed for mobile cryptocurrency mining. Yet, the iPhone 15 Pro Max may reach around 100 H/s. And by using a Bitcoin mining calculator, we can estimate a reward of 0.0000000000001 BTC/year. Following this train of thought, it would take around 10 trillion years to mine 1 Bitcoin using a smartphone, and that’s in lab conditions. So, the honest answer is still, “It ain’t gonna happen.”
Bitcoin Mining Apps
Of course, if you’ve been looking for mining apps on Google Play or App Store, you will find some of them. Notably, you will discover Mining Monitor, which doesn’t mine cryptocurrency but only helps you manage the process remotely.
If you decide to be crafty, you can download mining apps from the web. Although this is possible, the repercussions can be very debilitating, as you risk infecting your smartphone with malware. And if you’re lucky and don’t get your phone infected with malware, it will still burn out quickly.
How Many Bitcoins Are Left to Mine?
At the time of updating this article, in mid-August 2024, the remaining number of Bitcoins (BTC) available for mining is approximately 1,257,044, indicating that over 19,7 million are already in circulation.
What Happens After All the Bitcoins Have Been Mined?
Once the maximum supply of 21 million Bitcoins is reached, there will be no more newly issued Bitcoins, regardless of whether the number of available coins ultimately falls slightly below this threshold. However, Bitcoin transactions will continue to be verified and grouped into blocks, and miners will continue to receive compensation, mainly in the form of transaction processing fees.
The last Bitcoin is expected to be mined sometime near 2140.
The impact of Bitcoin reaching its supply limit will depend on the cryptocurrency’s evolution. If the Bitcoin blockchain processes a large number of transactions in 2140, miners may still be able to generate revenue by collecting transaction fees. On the other hand, if Bitcoin is mainly used as a store of value rather than for daily transactions, miners may make a profit by charging high fees to process high-value or large batches of transactions.
Is Bitcoin Mining Profitable in 2024?
Yes, Bitcoin can still be profitable if miners invest in the right tools and join a Bitcoin mining pool. But still, Bitcoin mining is not easy. We’re not saying that you can mine one Bitcoin (or one block) yourself easily or that you’ll manage to get yourself one Bitcoin a day. Although it’s possible to mine one Bitcoin daily, you need a colossal hardware infrastructure, bringing huge electricity and hardware costs.
FAQ
How long does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin today?
Mining one block usually takes around 10 minutes, so mining 1 BTC may take around 3 minutes or less with the right equipment.
How much Bitcoin can be mined in a day?
It strongly depends on the hardware you use, but on average, there are 144 blocks mined daily, so this means there are 450 BTC mined daily.
How long does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin on an iPhone?
If you use an iPhone 15 Pro Max to mine BTC, it may take you around 10 trillion years to mine 1 Bitcoin. Piece of cake, right?
How hard is it to mine Bitcoin?
Again, this depends on your equipment and the type of mining you choose. You can rely on a mining pool and lower the time you spend mining and the electricity consumption, or you can make things harder and more time-consuming by choosing solo mining.
Can you mine for bitcoins without the right equipment?
Well, you can at least try to, but it’s a sure thing that you cannot start mining without accessing the proper software. Even if you want to mine on your PC or smartphone, you still need a specialized platform to launch the process.
In Conclusion
As Bitcoin mining becomes very competitive and less lucrative, no miner has the guarantee that they will be the one to receive the block, especially if they lack the computational resources required to outperform the other miners. Therefore, calculating the required time for successfully mining a block is pretty complex.
Even with all the factors considered, there is no easy and precise way of answering the question of how long it takes to mine 1 Bitcoin. The answer gets even more confusing if you use a PC or smartphone when your competitors use ASICs and Bitcoin mining rigs.