what does bitcoin mining mean?

Good day everyone, I have been hearing of "mining" of bitcoin, but I never really understood what it was and who is authorized to do it. Please can someone shed more light? Thanks

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@emma_durban - 1 month ago

Bitcoin mining is simply creating new bitcoin in exchange for a monetary reward and without mining there will not be any additional bitcoin for anyone to buy. Anyone can mine bitcoin in their home but it you will pay high electricity bills because it takes time to complete. You also need to know how to solve complex puzzles to be able to mine bitcoin successfully. This is what I know about mining.

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@josiah_edem - 1 month ago

Mining is creating new blocks to be added to the bitcoin block-chain. You will be given a kind of mathematical puzzle to solve and the first to solve it gets a reward. Every time you try to solve the puzzle and fail, the system recognizes the failure and keeps it as a means of strengthening the bitcoin security.

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@paul_petit - 1 month ago

Can I buy bitcoin if I don't want to mine it?

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@emma_durban - 1 month ago

Yes, just open an account with a bitcoin exchange and deposit money, then you can buy fractions of bitcoin and own them.