A solo Bitcoin (BTC) miner achieved a striking milestone on July 26 by successfully mining block 907283 and earning the full 3.125 BTC reward, a CoinTelegraph report showed. Even though the miner had to shell out $3,436 in transaction fees, the earnings reward is worth multifold at $372,773. The miner operated via Solo CK, a dedicated solo‑mining pool service, to solve a block containing 4,038 transactions.
This feat was accomplished in one of the most challenging mining environments in Bitcoin’s history. The network’s hashrate and difficulty have climbed to near record levels, with difficulty sitting above 126 trillion. With such hindrances, success becomes increasingly rare for individual miners. Solo miners now often rely on vast computing power; for instance, one block won earlier in July was solved with only ~2.3 PH/s (Petahashes per second) of hash rate.
A rare triumph for solo miners
During the March 2023 halving era, a rare 6.25 BTC reward was produced, and notable anecdotal solo wins occurred with powerful setups in earlier years. One Reddit user recalled mining a 3.125 BTC block on CK Pool with ~120 PH/s hash rate. This was a standout moment, given it was only the ~282nd solo block ever solved.
Mining as a solo operator is daunting. As network difficulty increases, miners face long droughts between block solves, making payouts unpredictable. Miners shoulder the entire cost of hardware and electricity, which is often at an industrial scale with huge energy consumption. Power outages or connectivity issues can nullify in‑progress mining efforts, and solo miners do not have the reliability of pools for income.
Network pressure and operational constraints
According to a Binance report, in June, several Bitcoin mining operations in Texas scaled back power consumption to avoid peak-demand charges enforced by the grid operator, causing a temporary dip in mined blocks. MARA was one of the affected firms, reporting reduced production numbers that month as adverse weather conditions slowed operations.
Earning full block rewards worth hundreds of thousands comes with its fair share of challenges like rising hash‑rates, soaring difficulty, capital and energy demands, and operational risk.