It all started in the year 1983 with Stefan Brands and David Chaum proposing the original algorithms of what we now know as “electronic cash”. A number of concepts (cryptocurrencies) were presented later on, and some business mechanism patterns were also estimated. However, it was only in the year 2008 that the data with information on the algorithm as well as the working policy of Bitcoin’s P2P network was published.
Laszlo Hanyecz was the first person to use Bitcoin in 2010 to buy two pizza slices. It cost him 10,000 BTC. Today, the price of 1 BTC is close to $9500 and it keeps on fluctuating, depending on the market rate of cryptocurrencies. There are many other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero or Zcash, but Bitcoin’s popularity is widespread. There are hundreds and thousands of shops and restaurants which accept Bitcoin as a universal mode of payment.
The Bitcoin Fever
Cryptocurrency mining is the method of solving algorithmic equations on the blockchain network where the transactions take place. This process of mining requires huge computational power and for every block mined, the miner gets a specific reward (which is basically a share of the cryptocurrency which is being mined). For Bitcoin, the initial mining reward was 50 BTC per block. But as a means to control the currency generation, the reward is halved every 210000 blocks. The average block generation time is 10 minutes. The total coin cap for Bitcoin is 21 million, out of which 55% of the coins have already been mined. It is estimated that by 2032, 99% of the coins will be mined. Currently, there are 4 generations of miners or mining hardware, from CPU miners to next-gen ASICs. You can still mine Bitcoin using a simple CPU, but you will not be able to make a profit out of it.
CPU Mining- Gen 1
Profits made from cryptocurrency mining on your PC mostly depends on the processor. If you are using the best-in-class Core i7, you will get 33 MH/s of hashing power. All the calculations are processed on the 512-bit blocks. The result of one operation is based on the result of the earlier one.
GPU Mining- Gen 2
The 2nd generation of miners are essentially comprised of graphics cards. These miners held bitcoin-algorithm realization in Python or Java and also the enumeration algorithm (OpenCL file) that must have been organized as per the ISA of an associated GPU. GPU miners use different methods to enhance their profits. Some play with the voltage, while others increase it, so as to enhance the mining productivity. Some even lowered the voltage to save a few dollars on electricity. A few modifications were also made to the GPU cores as well as code parameters to increase the flow.
In contrast to CPU mining which is basically a single device, GPU mining may comprise of a string of hardware that are connected to the motherboard. This is known as a GPU mining rig. This eventually made way for the evolution of mining farms for Bitcoin which were based on GPUs or graphics processors. A typical AMD GPU demonstrates higher mining productivity than the popular nVidia when we compare the ‘GH/s’ to the ‘$’ values. This is the very reason why AMD GPUs are still popular among the mining communities.
FPGA Mining- Gen 3
Cryptocurrency mining using FPGA did not last for a very long time and was soon replaced by ASIC, a new generation hardware which was specifically meant for cryptocurrency mining. The main issue with this device was that it was quite high-priced (almost 30% higher) when compared to GPU miners.
ASIC Mining- Gen 4
With the advent of ASIC, cryptocurrency mining took a different turn altogether. BFL was the first brand in the market and was soon followed by Avalon and ASICMINER. The 4th generation miners were costly. As cryptocurrencies became more and more popular, the interest and need for mining also increased. Purchasing an ASIC miner is not a possible option for everyone. Thus, the next alternative was cloud mining which became the most sought-after solution and opened the doors to Bitcoin mining for almost everyone.
Cloud Mining
Bitcoin mining will gain universal popularity only when everyone can afford it. Cloud mining provides the perfect gateway for this. You do not have to purchase a mining hardware, nor do you need to spend an exorbitant amount on electricity bills. All you have to do is purchase a mining contract (the minimum term is of 2 years) and get going. You can also calculate your mining profitability using an online calculator.
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Source: https://medium.com/@hashgains/the-evolution-of-bitcoin-mining-from-cpu-to-cloud-2e9ee96e43cb