Solo Bitcoin Miner Defies 1-in-2,800 Odds, Strikes $350K Block Reward

VISI.NEWS | BANDUNG - A solo Bitcoin miner achieved a rare and remarkable success by mining a full block and earning nearly $350,000 in rewards—despite operating with only a modest 2.3 petahashes per second (PH/s) hashrate.

According to Mempool Space data, the miner solved block 903,883 using the CKpool solo mining pool. Given the current Bitcoin network difficulty, the odds of a miner with 2.3 PH/s achieving this are approximately 1 in 2,800 per day—or roughly once every eight years—highlighting the rarity of the event.

The reward for solving the block totaled 3.173 BTC, valued at about $349,028 at the time. While the miner’s exact hardware setup remains unknown, experts suggest it likely consisted of several older ASIC miners rather than high-end industrial machines.

Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo called the event extraordinary, underscoring the potential for even small-scale participants to succeed in solo mining—despite overwhelmingly slim odds. For comparison, truly small hobbyist miners using USB sticks or single-terahash devices have virtually no chance of solving a block independently.

In contrast, industrial mining firms like Riot Platforms, Cipher Mining, and MARA Holdings all reported decreased production in June. These companies voluntarily curtailed operations in Texas to avoid steep energy costs during peak summer demand, reflecting how large-scale miners are adjusting to economic and environmental pressures.

Interestingly, this marks the third notable solo mining win in recent months. Similar victories occurred in February and early June, with each miner earning over $300,000 in block rewards.

Meanwhile, the global mining landscape continues to be shaped by Chinese influence. Despite Beijing’s 2021 ban on crypto mining, Chinese capital, hardware, and technical expertise still account for an estimated 55%–65% of global mining activity. Major hardware manufacturers like Bitmain and MicroBT have shifted production abroad, particularly to the U.S., helping the country increase its share of the Bitcoin network’s total hashrate to 38%—up from just 4% in 2019.

Uminers CEO Batyr Hydyrov noted that many former Chinese operations have actually expanded after relocating, with some growing their capacity by as much as 150%, and emphasized that some limited mining activity continues in China’s remote areas due to lax enforcement. @ffr