Is it possible to still earn coins?

To hold its value, cryptocurrency needs to exist in a finite amount, and just like printing money, it needs an initial distribution. The system also relies on a network of peers (i.e., hundreds to thousands of computers) to audit each transaction on the network; in other words, the community of computers has to agree that a transaction is legitimate before it’s finalized as a “block” and added to the blockchain. Crypto mining exists as a solution to both problems. Essentially, a network of computers works to validate a hypothetical transaction by solving a 64-digit hexadecimal “hash.” If the transaction is validated, the block is legitimized, and the first computer on the network that solved it gets a fixed reward of cryptocurrency. This problem-solving guesswork takes a tremendous amount of computing power, which requires advanced graphics cards, several man-hours of setup, and of course, lots of electricity. Still, millions of people are trying their hand at it for the chance to generate free cryptocurrency for themselves.