Miners can mine Bitcoins using various devices. Let’s take a look one by one.

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU) Mining
Miners employed their standard computers to process Bitcoins at the time it was first launched in 2009. Since fewer miners took part in Bitcoin mining it was easy to mine Bitcoins using CPUs. However, competition for Bitcoin mining is very fierce and it’s almost impossible to extract Bitcoins efficiently using CPUs.

2. Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Mining
After Bitcoin became popular in 2010, GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) were first introduced in the year the year 2010. GPUs had a higher hash rate than CPUs. But, they were a short-lived technology and were much more costly than CPUs. This is when we see the debut of FPGAs.

3. Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Mining
FPGAs that came into existence in the year 2011 could be programmed or changed using various mining algorithms. This is why FPGAs have attracted a large number of people but they were not an extremely long-lasting. While FPGAs are affluent and can be customized to meet preference for mining, they are available with a price.

FPGA devices are usually more difficult to construct because they require programming to run on customized code. This was the catalyst for ASICs.

4. Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)
ASICs are the most sophisticated mining equipment that is specifically designed for certain mining strategies. For example, Bitcoin miners are programmed to use the SHA-256 algorithm however, Zcash uses an Equihash algorithm. Miners are able to select the right hardware based on the cryptocurrency they wish to mine.

Furthermore, these ASICs feature greater hash rates which lets you efficiently mine cryptocurrency against the mining difficult.