I mean seriously break it down for me I know nothing at all about this stuff
There are two main ways:
Mining - You run a program on a computer that does lots of calculations. If you’re lucky, your computer finds the right answer and you get rewarded with cryptocurrency.
Reselling - Instead of mining, you can buy cryptocurrency at a low price. For example, you spend $10 on one coin and then look to sell it to someone else for more than $10. This is similar to how the stock market works.
Many cryptocurrencies are moving away from mining because it uses up a lot of electricity for calculations that do not hold real value once they are confirmed.
@Gladys
But who is giving away this cryptocurrency when you mine? It must belong to someone, right? I don’t get why the calculations are needed.
Gordon said:
@Gladys
But who is giving away this cryptocurrency when you mine? It must belong to someone, right? I don’t get why the calculations are needed.
It is created like how money is printed or how gold is mined. However, there is a limit—only 21 million Bitcoins can ever exist.
All this information is available in the source code, which is open for anyone to see. I read the white paper and it’s quite interesting.
The calculations are known as proof of work. They involve many guesses to find a correct answer for organizing transactions. This is important because once the right answer is found, it is easy to check, but hard to replicate.
Once this answer is found and verified by the network of computers running the software, they move on to solving the next set of transactions.
Any malicious actor trying to create fake transactions would first have to redo the already solved problems and then beat other computers working on the next solutions. It’s highly unlikely they could keep up, which is the reason behind blockchain security.
Read more about it here 
@Taran
What happens when all 21 million Bitcoins are found?
Nicol said:
@Taran
What happens when all 21 million Bitcoins are found?
No more Bitcoins will be minted. That will be all that exists.
Nicol said:
@Taran
What happens when all 21 million Bitcoins are found?
No more Bitcoins will be minted. That will be all that exists.
What would then motivate people to process transactions if there are no new Bitcoins?
@Dezi
Miners will still get transaction fees from each block processed. The reward for printing Bitcoin gets halved every four years. By the time the last Bitcoin is mined in 2140, transaction fees will make up the entire miner’s reward.
@LizCampbell
Where does this reward come from if all the Bitcoin is owned? Do the people involved in the transaction pay fees?
Mickey said:
@LizCampbell
Where does this reward come from if all the Bitcoin is owned? Do the people involved in the transaction pay fees?
Yes, when you send money, part of it is taken as a fee.
Mickey said:
@LizCampbell
Where does this reward come from if all the Bitcoin is owned? Do the people involved in the transaction pay fees?
The key aspect of decentralization is that no one person has control over more than 51% of the Bitcoins.
If a cryptocurrency is centrally managed, it contradicts its core principle.
Be cautious of such coins as they are likely to be controlled by those with power.
@Juno
That’s not correct. It’s about controlling 51% of the processing power, not the coins themselves. The coins help pay transaction fees and are not linked to how much computing power you own.
@Clovis
This comment is empty, admin should fix
@Axelle
Who covers the transaction fees?
When you send cryptocurrency, you choose how much fee to pay. Miners aim to make valid transaction blocks using the highest paying transactions to maximize their earnings.
If I recall right, there was a miner who created blocks without any transactions to get the mining reward faster. It didn’t matter much though, as that only increases fees.
The transaction fees come from the people sending the transactions. Every time you transfer Bitcoin or any other crypto from one account to another, you pay a transaction fee that varies based on the type of crypto, time of day, and which exchange you’re using.
It’s similar to withdrawing from an out-of-network ATM where you pay a fee to access your funds. You essentially rent the miners’ computing power for these transactions.
People transferring Bitcoin to others are responsible for transaction fees.
@Dezi
For Bitcoin, miners will be paid through transaction fees.
MarkusJames3 said:
@Dezi
For Bitcoin, miners will be paid through transaction fees.
What do miners get paid with? More Bitcoin? Considering there’s a cap of 21 million.
MarkusJames3 said:
@Dezi
For Bitcoin, miners will be paid through transaction fees.
What do miners get paid with? More Bitcoin? Considering there’s a cap of 21 million.
You pay a fee (around 5 to 10 dollars) with each transaction. That’s what they earn.