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If you want to join in the bitcoin frenzy with no just buying the digital currency in the inflated prices, then bitcoin mining is another way to become involved. But, mining bitcoins does include expenses -- and dangers -- of its own. And the more popular bitcoins become, the harder it is to mine profitably. .

Unlike paper currency, which can be printed by both governments and issued by banks, bitcoins do not arrive in any physical type. That creates a significant hazard, as hackers can theoretically produce bitcoins from nothing. Bitcoin mining is the way the bitcoin network keeps its transactions protected.

Bitcoin transactions are secured with blockchains, which compose a public ledger of transactions. Due to the way blockchain transactions are structured, they are extremely tough to alter or compromise, even from the best hackers. However, in order to secure these transactions, someone needs to dedicate computing power to verifying the action and packaging the details in a block that goes into the bitcoin ledger.

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As a reward for doing the job to monitor and secure transactions, miners earn bitcoins for every block that they successfully process. .

The bitcoin founders have set a limit of 21 million bitcoins available for mining. Once that total is reached, miners will continue to be able to benefit from transaction fees, but they won't be granted bitcoins as a reward for their job. As of mid-January 2018, roughly 16.8 million of the 21 million bitcoins have already been mined.  Assuming that the bitcoin mining industry doesn't change dramatically, it seems like we won't hit on the 21 million-bitcoin restrict until the year 2140. .

During the early days of bitcoin mining, miners would often download a software bundle designed to allow their computers to process bitcoin transactions in the background. Unfortunately, that is no longer sensible, because solving bitcoin transactions is becoming too hard for your computer to manage.

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The bitcoin network is designed to produce a certain number of new bitcoins each 10 minutes. If only a couple people are bitcoin mining at any given time, then the network will be generous and share bitcoins readily in order to attain the predetermined number. However, useful link now that bitcoin mining has become so widespread, the network has become much stingier about handing out bitcoins into miners.

Nowadays, in order to have a chance in being rewarding, miners need to adopt one of two strategies: 1) buy specialized hardware (aka a bitcoin mining rig) or 2) join a cloud mining pool. .

To get started with your own mining rig, you buy hardware designed for mining bitcoin (or some other virtual currency), set it up, and let it run 24/7 solving bitcoin transactions. Ideally, this will result in a continuous stream of payments without your needing to get involved.

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While it's fairly easy to set up and use a bitcoin mining rig, really making money on the process is something of a challenge. Because more and more people are signing up to mine bitcoins, the mining process continues to get more difficult and will probably keep doing so for some time.

And because bitcoin mining rigs aren't cheap -- expect to pay at least $1,000 for your hardware, or several times that to get a top-quality rig -- having to replace it every year or 2 takes a huge bite out of any gains you make from mining. Plus, most mining rigs consume enormous amounts of electricity, so you also have to subtract that expense in the bitcoins you earn to determine your own profits. .

If buying and maintaining your own mining gear doesn't attract you, then cloud mining might be the best way to go. Cloud mining companies invest in enormous mining channels, often filling entire data centers with the hardware, and then market subscriptions to individuals interested in dipping a toe into bitcoin mining.

The biggest challenge facing cloud mining subscribers is avoiding fraud. The field is rife with pseudo-companies which sell thousands of multiyear subscriptions, cover for a few months, and then vanish into the sunset. In case you choose to try cloud mining, do your homework in advance and confirm that the company you're dealing with is a real cloud miner and not a scheme.

Avoid companies with anonymous domain registration (you can look up their registration info Network Solutions), in addition to any mining company that"guarantees" profits or provides huge incentives for referring new customers; anything over a 10% referral commission is deeply suspicious, because legitimate mining pools just don't generate a high enough profit margin to pay big commissions. .