I was a bit surprised to learn that you can earn 25 bitcoins, just by confirming a block worth of transactions. If I've done the math right, at $493 per bitcoin, that's $12,325.
Does one do a lot of work (beyond a few mouse clicks) to earn those 25 bitcoins? Does that constitute "rent" for the use of the resources of your computer (which probably cost a lot less than $12,325)?
Or is it just the case that 25 bitcoins are issued per block, and by confirming a block of transactions, you get those those 25 bitcoins.