How to get bitcoin? Comparison of advantages and disadvantages of various acquisition methods
Nov 21, 2024
The most authoritative answer to this question is the white paper on Bitcoin published by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. The issuance of bitcoin does not rely on centralized financial institutions, but is generated through the block rewards obtained by each participant in bitcoin mining.
The total number of bitcoin is limited to 21 million, which is deflationary and scarce. It is also known as digital gold, and it is highly sought after in the fields of payment, finance and investment. Since 2020, companies such as PayPal, MicroStratergy, Square, Tesla and Meitu have invested 5%-10% of their cash flow in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has been frequently seen in mainstream media in recent years, especially in 2021, and its popularity and recognition have reached an unprecedented height. More and more investors are beginning to understand and join the ranks of investing in Bitcoin. So as an ordinary investor, how can you get Bitcoin?
How do ordinary people own bitcoin?
Bitcoin can be obtained in many ways, such as mining, trading, giving away, and paying wages.
(1) mining. "Mining" is an image metaphor, just like mining by manual labor to obtain coal in a coal mine. In bitcoin mining, you can keep accounts by paying computer computing power and get bitcoin rewards. Bitcoin mining is the most primitive way to obtain Bitcoin and the source of producing Bitcoin. The mining tool is the mining machine.
2 transactions. It is the easiest way to get bitcoin by direct purchase. Investors can use their assets to buy bitcoin through the online bitcoin trading platform. Of course, there are also some ways to buy bitcoin through friends' introduction and middleman's guarantee.
3 gifts. In the blockchain network, some games will have bitcoin reward function; In addition, in some community websites, active users may also get rewarded bitcoin tips by posting messages, technical posts and popular analysis on social media.
4 salary. Wage refers to earning bitcoin wages through work. At present, many countries in America and Europe recognize and recognize the payment function of bitcoin, and many foreign companies have begun to use bitcoin as wages to pay their employees, such as Airbnb in the United States, Argo Blockchain in the United Kingdom, Bitcoin Suisse in Switzerland, and Blockstream in Canada.
For ordinary people, it is unrealistic to get bitcoin by giving or paying. The main ways to get bitcoin are mining and trading.
Advantages and difficulties of bitcoin mining
Bitcoin has no centralized management organization. Anyone can participate in the Bitcoin network and dig Bitcoin by competing for bookkeeping rights. All participants enjoy the same status. Many people think that you can dig out Bitcoin with your home computer. In fact, early home computers can dig out Bitcoin. However, with the increasingly fierce competition in mining, the low computing power of ordinary computers can no longer dig out Bitcoin. At present, all the people engaged in bitcoin mining are professional mining machines and mines.
Advantages of mining for bitcoin:
① Low cost. There are basically no other expensive expenses except the cost of mining machine, electricity and operation and maintenance expenses. Under the background of bull market, it is a low-cost and high-yield and relatively stable way to obtain bitcoin.
② The risk is low. The cost of bitcoin mining mentioned above is mainly the cost of mining machine, electricity and operation and maintenance expenses, and these expenses are relatively limited in fluctuation. Therefore, compared with investors in the secondary market, obtaining bitcoin by mining can avoid the risk of large fluctuations in currency prices.
③ The profit model is clear. Mining has a return cycle. At the same cost, mining can often hold more bitcoin, which is more trustworthy than speculative profit for some traditional investors.
The difficulty of mining to obtain bitcoin:
① Technical conditions. The computing power of a single mining machine is limited, and it is very difficult to dig out bitcoin. It is necessary to connect the mining machine to the mine pool, or several mining institutions should build a mine to jointly mine, which requires certain technical support.
② Site and electricity price. Large-scale mines need to build sites and obtain approval. Private mines have legal risks, and ordinary users will also face various risks when they entrust mining machines to the mines. The power consumption of mining machines is huge, and running mines in places with high electricity charges will increase the cost. Sometimes, when the price of currency drops sharply, it may be difficult to make ends meet.
③ Operation and maintenance of mining machine. The operation and maintenance of mining machines need to consume manpower, material resources and technology. At the same time, if there are serious problems in the hardware of mining machines, it will also affect the mining income.
Advantages and risks of acquiring bitcoin by trading.
As an ordinary investor, the most common, fastest and simplest way to get bitcoin is to trade, and you can buy bitcoin directly through the encrypted asset trading platform online.
The advantages of buying bitcoin directly:
① The threshold is low. Buying bitcoin directly on the trading platform does not require hardware costs and too high technical conditions, and it can be done anytime and anywhere.
(2) Leveraged income. For some experienced users, you can use the leverage and contract of the trading platform to maximize the income and earn extra profits from currency price fluctuations.
The risk of acquiring bitcoin through trading:
The risk of currency price fluctuation is that not all transactions can "buy low and sell high", and there is no limit to the rise and fall of cryptocurrency. If a novice can't master the fluctuation law of currency price, the risk is higher than that of traditional investment.
Conclusion: For ordinary investors, the threshold for obtaining bitcoin through mining is relatively high. At present, buying bitcoin through trading platforms is the most convenient way to obtain bitcoin. When conducting bitcoin transactions, you must choose a well-known trading platform, so that investors will have a better trading experience from the perspective of asset security and the richness of trading products.