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If you want to join in the bitcoin frenzy with no just buying the digital currency at today's inflated prices, then bitcoin mining is another way to get involved. However, mining bitcoins does include expenses -- and risks -- of its own. And the more popular bitcoins become, the harder it is to mine them 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 major risk, as hackers could theoretically produce bitcoins from nothing. Bitcoin mining is how the bitcoin network retains its transactions protected.

Bitcoin transactions are secured by blockchains, which make up a public ledger of transactions. Due to the way blockchain transactions are structured, they are extremely difficult to alter or compromise, even by the top hackers. But in order to protect those transactions, someone needs to dedicate computing power to verifying the activity and packaging the facts 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 still be able to benefit from transaction fees, but they won't be granted bitcoins as a reward for their work. As of mid-January 2018, approximately 16.8 million of those 21 million bitcoins have been mined.  Assuming the bitcoin mining industry doesn't change dramatically, it looks like we won't hit the 21 million-bitcoin limit until the year 2140. .

During the first 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's no longer sensible, because solving bitcoin transactions has become too difficult for your average computer to manage.

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The bitcoin network is designed to make a certain number of new bitcoins every 10 minutes. If only a few men and women have been bitcoin mining at any given time, then the network will probably be generous and share bitcoins readily in order to attain the predetermined number. But now that bitcoin mining has become site so widespread, the network has become much stingier about handing out bitcoins to miners.

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

To begin with your own mining rig, you buy hardware designed for mining bitcoin (or any other digital currency), set it up, and let it run 24/7 solving bitcoin transactions. Ideally, this will result in a steady 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, actually making money on the course of action is something of a challenge. Because more and more people are signing up for mine bitcoins, the mining process continues to have more difficult and will probably keep doing so for some time.

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

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

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

Avoid companies with anonymous domain registration (you can look up their registration info at Network Solutions), as well as any mining company that"guarantees" profits or provides huge incentives for referring new clients; anything above a 10% referral commission is deeply suspicious, because valid mining pools simply don't generate a large enough profit margin to pay huge commissions. .