A lone BTC miner going by the name 1Ng9~VoQz has struck it rich, thanks to a random stroke of luck and unwavering perseverance. This lone operator cracked a block on the BTC network on December 12 and took home a full reward of 3.13 BTC, which is currently valued at about $288,383.50. What’s crazy? With just 270 terahashes per second (TH/s) of power, a minuscule fraction that represents around 0.00002% of the network’s hash rate, they managed to do this.
Here’s the short version if you’re not interested in the bitcoin mining weeds: In order to validate transactions and add new blocks to the chain, miners compete to solve challenging mathematical riddles. These days, everything is dominated by enormous corporate organizations that have warehouses full of ASIC devices. These organizations typically band together in pools for steady but lower rewards. All of that is skipped by solo mining. You pursue the entire reward on your own. The odds are ridiculously low. A configuration like this may have a 1-in-30,000 chance of identifying a block on any given day, considering that the network is currently operating at about 1.3 exahashes per second (EH/s). The fact that this victory is only the 310th solo block that CKPool has ever recorded emphasizes how uncommon these instances are.
It briefly surpassed industry heavyweights like Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) and Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA). The apparatus was probably a few robust Antminer S21s or something comparable, running quietly in a small shed or garage somewhere. The payment included an extra 0.005 BTC from transaction fees in addition to the base 3.125 BTC subsidy, which has been in effect since the 2024 halving. Even after CKPool subtracted its 2% cost for providing the solo infrastructure without splitting rewards, the miner still collected a genuinely transformative amount.
This is not just a heartwarming tale. It has an impact on the entire mining industry. A single victory like this takes everyone back to BTC’s decentralized beginnings at a time when massive industrial farms consume gigawatts of electricity and face criticism from regulators. It demonstrates that the protocol still allows tiny players to contribute to network security. However, experts quickly caution that solo mining isn’t a wise business strategy. Alex Thorn, an analyst at Galaxy Digital, recently made the quip, “It’s basically buying lottery tickets with your power bill.” All the months of nothing are not compensated for by a single high score.
Drama is increased by the timing. BTC has been volatile lately, falling below $90,000 recently as economic concerns and money pouring into AI stocks take front stage. With the hash price locked at $35 per PH/s each day, down more than a third from summer peaks, miners are feeling the pinch. Since typical production costs are closer to $44 per PH/s, many enterprises are losing money every day. This victory may pique hobbyists’ interest, but it also draws attention to the obstacles: challenges at an absurd 156 trillion and power costs that penalize anyone without extremely low-cost renewable energy or flared gas.
What does this signify for solo mining in the future? The probabilities are still very high because the network is still growing, even though newer processors that claim sub-15 J/TH efficiency might be somewhat beneficial. Forums are currently blooming with lone individuals sharing advice about open-source tools and firmware tweaks. Decentralization is still alive and thriving, as seen by the abundance of congratulations and jealous acclaim in one sizable Reddit discussion.
This appears to be a much-needed boost for the company overall. While public miners like Hut 8 (NASDAQ: HUT) and CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK) deal with falling stocks and balance sheet issues, stories like this one put a human face on the daily grind. They remind everyone that BTC’s security is most advantageous to a wide range of sizes, from bedroom setups to mega-corporations. In this digital gold rush, where the daring and fortunate occasionally make enormous fortunes, it keeps the magic alive, whether it begins as a tiny, isolated renaissance or turns out to be just a fantastic anecdote.
In related developments, the BTC Foundation revealed intentions to better track small-scale donations and even offer microgrants for creative home installations. Environmental groups even supported it, citing the fact that individual miners often use more electricity from their homes and produce less waste than the large-scale enterprises.
As block 876,543 vanishes into the past, the mining community observes. Will more underdogs defeat the titans? The only indicators are time and raw hashrate.
Watch | Bitcoin mining in 2025: Is it still worth it?
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Source: https://coingeek.com/solo-btc-miner-defies-odds/
