Lone Bitcoin Miner Defies Odds, Solves Block Solo to Net $200K Reward
Summary:
An individual Bitcoin miner has successfully solved a Bitcoin block single-handedly, yielding a 3.125 BTC reward. This achievement was the 282nd of its kind in Bitcoin's history and was noted as significant given the rarity of such an event. The reward for unlocking the block was halved from 6.25 BTC following the recent Bitcoin halving, making it worth approximately $200,000. The growth of Bitcoin's value and popularity has significantly increased mining competitiveness and hash rate, creating a challenging environment for solo miners. The article encapsulates the complexity, competitiveness and notable accomplishments within the arena of Bitcoin mining.
A lone Bitcoin miner has impressively cracked a Bitcoin block single-handedly, claiming the entire 3.125 Bitcoin (BTC) block reward. Con Kolivas, a software engineer and solo mining pool administrator from ckpool, shared on X on April 29 that a miner has independently solved the 282nd solo block in Bitcoin's existence. At the time, the miner possessed a substantially high hash rate of approximately 120PH (peta hashes), equating to around 0.12 EH (exa hashes). Over a week, their average was close to 12PH, which is about 0.02% of the complete network hash rate. The reward for unlocking block number 841,286 was recently halved from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC following the Bitcoin halving of block 840,000 on April 20. Hence, the reward the miner earned was roughly $200,000 in BTC value then.
Looking into the block-overcoming outline, Kolivas hypothesized that this substantial miner possibly opted for solo mining after the halving, presumably due to their electricity costs failing to be compensated, or they might have been sporadically hashing or renting significant volumes solo. The achievement is substantial, considering the rarity of a solo miner validating a block, which can be compared to winning a lottery. This rare event has only transpired 282 times out of around 841,300 blocks mined since Bitcoin was introduced 14 years ago.
To mine BTC, an individual must provide computational power for the new block to be solved and added to the network. But, as Bitcoin's price increases, mining's popularity has amplified, leading to heightened competitiveness or difficulty and hash rate (network computing power). This surge renders solo block solving nearly impossible.
In light of Cointelegraph's March 2023 report, a solo miner claimed the entire 6.25 BTC reward for solving a block. But back then, with lower prices, the reward was approximately $150,000. The latest block solo-solved was on April 5, a fortnight before the halving event; this miner unlocked block 837,814 with 7PH of hash rate and earned a reward near $422,750.
According to Bitinfocharts, the present average network hash rate is 618 EH/s (exa hashes per second), having smashed the previous record and reached an all-time high of 728 EH/s on April 23. This represents an increase of over 90% in the past 12 months, making the recent achievement in solo mining even more extraordinary.
Published At
4/29/2024 6:46:22 AM
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