When Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009, it was designed to be mined by anyone with a computer. The mining process was simple and only required a standard CPU to solve the mathematical equations necessary to verify transactions on the network. Miners would compete to solve these equations, and the first miner to do so would be rewarded with new bitcoins.
Since the early days of Bitcoin, the mining process has undergone several changes. The most significant change was the introduction of specialized mining hardware known as Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) miners. These miners are much more efficient at solving the mathematical equations required to mine new blocks and are much faster than traditional CPUs and GPUs.

Another change to the mining process is the increase in mining difficulty. As more miners joined the network, the difficulty of solving the equations increased, making it more difficult for individual miners to earn rewards. This led to the formation of mining pools, where multiple miners combine their computing power to increase their chances of solving the equations and earning rewards.