A lone Bitcoin miner has just achieved a milestone by successfully processing a transaction block without participating in a mining pool, thus receiving a reward worth 266,000 USD. This is a rare event in the world of Bitcoin mining, leading many to wonder: Is solo Bitcoin mining truly feasible, or is it just luck?
Details of the Lone Miner’s 'Jackpot'
Last Friday, an anonymous miner successfully processed Bitcoin block number 888,737. This block contained 2,327 transactions, and the reward this miner received included:
3.125 $BTC fixed reward for mining a block
0.032 BTC transaction fee from transactions in the block
With Bitcoin priced at 84,257 USD/BTC at that time, the total amount the miner received reached 266,000 USD.
But this is not an easy task.
Most Bitcoin miners today must join mining pools – groups that help increase the chances of finding new blocks by sharing resources. When a pool finds a new block, the rewards are distributed among all members based on their contributed computational power (#hashrate ).
However, in some rare cases, a miner can find a block alone without needing a pool. And that is exactly what happened in this event.
Solo Mining – Is Mining Bitcoin Alone Easy?
In theory, anyone can mine Bitcoin alone by running a single miner and trying to find a new block. But the chance of success is extremely low.
The Bitcoin system operates on the principle of Proof-of-Work, where miners must solve complex cryptographic puzzles to validate transactions and create new blocks. With the strong development of the network, Bitcoin mining is becoming increasingly difficult, and most individual miners do not have enough computational power to compete with large mining pools.
An anonymous mining expert nicknamed Econoalchemist stated:
The term 'solo miner' can have many meanings. It could be an individual with a small mining rig in an apartment, or a warehouse full of powerful miners.
This means that a lone miner can have a powerful mining rig running simultaneously rather than just a small computer at home.
The Technology Behind the Success of Solo Miners
Blockchain data shows that the miner in this event used a DIY FutureBit Apollo miner – a model designed for individuals, not overly powerful compared to professional rigs.
Nevertheless, for such a machine to process a Bitcoin block on its own is quite unusual. This could be due to:
Luck: This is still a game of chance, and any miner has a chance to win, however small.
Powerful mining system configuration: This individual may have owned multiple FutureBit Apollo miners running simultaneously, increasing the chance of finding a block.
Little competition at that time: If at a random moment, the number of competing miners is low, the opportunity for a single miner can increase.
Should You Mine Bitcoin Alone?
After this event, many may consider mining Bitcoin at home. But there are several important factors to consider:
✅ Advantages of Solo Mining:
No need to share rewards with anyone if a block is found.
Not dependent on mining pools and their policies.
Lower costs for pool participation fees (if any).
❌ Disadvantages of #SoloMining :
The success rate is extremely low, and it can take months or even years to find a block.
High electricity costs if running the miner continuously.
Low profitability if there isn't a powerful mining rig.
Currently, most small-scale miners choose to join mining pools for a stable income source, rather than risking mining alone with an extremely low probability.
Conclusion
The fact that a lone miner found a Bitcoin block and received a reward of 266,000 USD is a rare event in the crypto world. It proves that solo mining still has a chance of success, although the odds are very low.
However, with the current level of competition, mining Bitcoin alone is not an optimal choice without a sufficiently powerful mining system and high patience.
Will this event create a new wave of 'solo mining'? Or is it just a temporary boost for those wanting to try their luck? Only time will tell.
