Against All Odds: The Rise of Solo Bitcoin Miners

Solo miners are making headlines by clinching full Bitcoin block rewards, even while the network’s hashrate teeters near unprecedented highs.

Current Hashrate Landscape

As it stands, the Bitcoin (BTC) network’s hashrate is around 902 exahashes per second (EH/s), just shy of its record peak, as per data from Blockchain.com. This number highlights an environment of fierce competition and heightened difficulty, implying that solo miners are up against daunting odds to successfully mine a block.

Yet, defying these odds is precisely what happened last week. A solo miner snagged block 907,283 through the Solo CK pool, pocketing the complete 3.125 BTC reward, valued over $372,000 on the time, together with $3,436 in transaction fees.

Not Just a Stroke of Luck

This is not just an isolated triumph. Back in July, one other solo miner with a mere 2.3 petahashes of power claimed a full block reward. Similar successes were recorded in June, March, and even February.

Samuel Li, the CTO of ASICKey, shared with Cointelegraph, “These solo wins aren’t about luck—it’s about leveraging powerful, efficient hardware.” He emphasized that modern mining rigs are designed to deliver substantial hashrate without the hefty power consumption typical of older setups.

Efficiency: The Name of the Game

Li underlined that efficiency is crucial for solo miners. “Take our KEYMINER A1, for instance—it only uses 650 watts but churns out 1,100 terahashes per second (TH/s) on Bitcoin, with potential monthly profits around $1,200. If you’re into altcoins, it can even pull in up to $3,800 monthly mining Dash,” he explained.

The KEYMINER A1 is a component of ASICKey’s hardware lineup launched last November, which also includes models just like the KEYMINER X and KEYMINER PRO. The KEYMINER X provides 2,300 TH/s at 1,300 watts, while the PRO variant maxes out at 5,800 TH/s with an influence draw of two,800 watts. Currently, the corporate estimates monthly earnings of as much as $6,300 for the PRO model.

However, despite these advancements in ASIC efficiency, the “fundamental odds [of solo miners winning] haven’t shifted much,” Li remarked.

“Solo mining is still largely a gamble unless you have control over tens of petahashes per second (PH/s), which is realistically the bare minimum to have a meaningful statistical chance of success within a reasonable time frame,” he added.

The Appeal of Going Solo

Li acknowledged a “modest resurgence” in solo mining interest, but for diverse motives. “Some miners aren’t in it for steady income but the potential windfall—a 6.25 BTC reward plus fees—which can be life-changing if you hit the jackpot,” he noted.

Beyond financial reasons, some are motivated by ideological aspects, prioritizing network decentralization and the independence from centralized mining pools.

Data from Hashrate Index shows that the US-based Foundry USA mining pool is leading with 29.3% of the whole hashrate. Behind it are AntPool with 16.2%, ViaBTC at 12.0%, and F2Pool holding 11.6%.

If a single mining pool—or a coalition of pools—controls greater than half of the hashrate, they may, in theory, execute a 51% attack, allowing them to double-spend coins. Although such occurrences are rare and expensive, they might undermine trust within the network.

“Ultimately, more solo miners—especially those using clean energy and efficient equipment—might contribute to a healthier, more decentralized Bitcoin network, aligning with the original vision of open, permissionless participation,” Li concluded.