Bitcoin Essentials

This practical guide starts with an introduction to Bitcoin wallets, as well as mining hardware and software. You will move on to learn about different mining techniques using the CPU, GPU, FPGA, and ultimately the ASIC as an example. After this, you will gain an insight into solo mining and pool mining, and see the differences between the two. The book will then walk you through large-scale mining and the challenges faced during such operations. Finally, you will take a look into the future to see a world where blockchain-based applications are commonplace and mining is ubiquitous.

Key Features

Learn how to use the advanced features of Bitcoin wallets
Set up your Bitcoin mining operations to mine with efficiency
Explore what the future holds for mining and blockchains in this pragmatic guide

What you will learn

Get introduced to Bitcoin mining from the ground up
Find out about mining software and the different types of mining hardware
Master setup techniques to enable efficient mining
Examine the pros and cons of the different types of mining hardware
Deduce the differences between solo and pool mining
Take a peek into professional mining farms
Explore the future of mining and blockchain-based applications

About the Author

Albert Szmigielski is a thinker, a computing scientist, a software engineer, and a blockchain professional. He holds a BSc in Computer Science and an MSc in Digital Currency. He has been involved in a number of start-ups and software projects. He believes in a decentralized, distributed nature of storing information, and hence has an interest in Bitcoin and blockchain technology.

Albert is a researcher at CryptoIQ and a mentor at the Blockchain Institute. He frequently contributes to his blog at blog.cryptoIQ.ca.

Table of Contents

Bitcoin Wallets and Mining Software
CPU Mining
GPU Mining
FPGA Mining
ASIC Mining
Solo Versus Pool Mining
Large Scale Mining
The Future of Bitcoin Mining