However, I always find it sad to see how mining is depicted in most media: as a way to "generate" bitcoins. This view is inaccurate for two reasons:
1. The purpose of this whole computation power is to secure the Bitcoin transactions. The mined Bitcoins are "just" an incentive (i.e. a desired side effect).
2. In addition to the mined Bitcoins, the miners receive the transaction costs. In the future, the mined Bitcoins will become a lesser and lesser part of the incentive, gradually replaced by the transaction costs.
Luckily, this one seems to be an exception. Although the title is misleading, the process is stated mostly correct (except for not mentioning transaction fees). From the related article:
"The lives of bitcoin miners digging for digital gold in Inner Mongolia"
https://qz.com/1054805/what-its-like-working-at-a-sprawling-...
Today, Ordos (population 2 million) has emerged as a center of bitcoin mining, the process of approving transactions and creating new coins in the digital currency’s system