Miningis using a computer’s processing power to unlock coins through adding transactions to the blockchain. Mining is the only way to release new cryptocurrency coins into the market and the nature of mining means every subsequent coin becomes harder to mine resulting in fewer coins mined each year. In 2020, there were only 1/8th of the number of Bitcoins mined compared to 2009.
In the past, all you needed to mine Bitcoin was your home computer. Now, you need a significantly more powerful customized machine which will cost thousands, and possibly tens of thousands of dollars, to set it up. It has become too expensive and resource intensive for a home set up to be a viable method for acquiring coins. You’re much better off acquiring Bitcoin by converting traditional fiat currency into Bitcoin on a cryptocurrency trading platform.