Bytes

Bytes are a virtual currency added in the Research Update. Bytes are used to purchase/unlock new schematics. Bytes are gained by researching various objects in the Research Chamber ranging from Research Items (high output but rare) to Resources (cheap but low output), or by collecting harvestables from various plants, rocks or Astroneer bodies.

Research Item
Varies from 15 - 17,200 (please update this if more or less is found)

Sorted by it's category, certain research object nets different amount of bytes with organic being the lowest and artificial being the highest.

Mineral Extractor
It may be worth considering the mineral extractor as a way of getting infinite bytes. The dirt to bytes ratio is best for titanium, where a full tank of soil will get you 2001 bytes in 15-30 minutes. The full table is here (note that some materials cannot be created in the Mineral Extractor):

Octet

Harvestables
Harvestables grow and respawn on various plants. They yield 8-65 bytes when activated, and respawn within 2-3 minutes. They can be a valuable consistent income of bytes if the player passes by and activates them frequently.