- A solo miner with 6 TH/s earned $265,000 by mining a block, defying 1-in-180 million odds.
- CKpool software enabled the miner to keep the full reward, minus a 2% fee.
- This win marks the 308th solo block mined by CKpool since 2014.
A solo miner has achieved an incredible feat in the Bitcoin world, overcoming odds of 1 in 180 million to mine a Bitcoin block. The miner, using a tiny fraction of the total Bitcoin network’s computing power, earned a reward worth approximately $265,000.
The Miner’s Setup: A Modest Contribution
The miner , part of the CK pool, was contributing just six terahashes per second (TH/s) to the Bitcoin network at the time of the block’s discovery. While this may sound impressive, it’s a small fraction of the total Bitcoin network hash rate. In comparison, the network’s hash rate surpassed 855 exahashes per second (EH/s) in October, making the miner’s six TH/s amount to just 0.0000007% of the total.
Bitcoin mining relies on solving complex mathematical problems, and miners compete to solve these problems and secure a block. The odds of a solo miner with such a small hash rate solving a block are astronomically low. According to CKpool creator Con Kolivas, a miner with this level of power has only a 1 in 180 million chance of successfully mining a block on any given day.
308th Solo Block Mined by CK Pool
The successful mining of this block was the 308th time CKpool software has been used by a solo miner since its inception in 2014. Not only is this win exceptional due to its infrequency, but it is also the first solo mining block in nearly three months. CKpool, allowing private miners to take the entire block reward minus a 2% fee, has been the medium for these underground high-stakes, solo mining operations.
While this win is huge for the miner, it also highlights the changing nature of Bitcoin mining. A solo miner with a computing division of 126 TH/s could solve one block when the hash rate of the whole Bitcoin network was around 170 EH/s during the year 2022. That miner was betting with the odds of 1 in 1.3 million, which is a much smaller margin compared to the winner’s 1 in 180 million odds in the recent case.
Solo mining pools, such as CKpool, enable single miners to get the entire prize for their effort in solving a block. While at the same time, the solo mining with minimalist resources is a gamble, it still represents the decentralized spirit of Bitcoin mining . Miners of any hash power can join the process of securing the Bitcoin network and consequently can share in the bounty that comes with it, which may be substantial.
