Mining Bitcoin is a process of verifying and adding transaction records to the public ledger, known as the blockchain. This ledger of past transactions is what allows Bitcoin to function as a decentralized currency, without the need for a central bank or other financial institution to issue new units of the currency or to verify transactions.
Anyone with an internet connection and the appropriate hardware can participate in mining.
The process of mining creates new Bitcoin, which are used to incentivize miners to continue verifying and committing transactions to the blockchain. When a new block is created, the miner who found the solution to the puzzle associated with that block is rewarded with a certain number of Bitcoin.
This number is halved every four years (or 210,000 blocks), until it reaches zero sometime in 2140. At that point, no new Bitcoin will be created and miners will instead be rewarded solely with transaction fees.
So is it legal to mine Bitcoin? The answer may vary depending on your jurisdiction, but in general, yes, it is perfectly legal to mine Bitcoin. There are no specific lAWS prohibiting individuals from doing so, and there have been no crackdowns or crackdown attempts by authorities on Bitcoin miners.
However, some countries may have regulations that indirectly impact mining activity. For example, China has banned cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs, which could make it more difficult for people in China to buy the necessary equipment and exchange any Bitcoin they mine for fiat currency.
Overall, though, there is no reason to believe that mining Bitcoin is illegal anywhere in the world. So if you’re interested in getting started, go ahead and do your research to find out what kind of hardware and software you need, and then start mining!
Conclusion: There is no federal or state law that explicitly makes mining bitcoin legal in the United States. To date, only a few states have issued guidance on bitcoin and other digital currencies – mostly dealing with money transmitter lAWS requiring businesses dealing in digital currencies to have a license – but nothing at the state level has gone so far as to make bitcoin illegal to mine.
Localities may have their own restrictions though; for example, New York City’s Dept. of Consumer Affairs issued guidance in 2014 suggesting that bitcoin businesses obtain a BitLicense from the state in order to operate legally.