Solo Bitcoin Miners Are Securing More Blocks Recently—What’s Behind This Trend?

In an impressive feat last week, a Bitcoin miner managed to strike it big by processing a block and securing a reward of 3.125 BTC. At that moment, which included transaction fees, this translated to a staggering $259,637. This event marks one of several recent solo achievements in mining.

So, was this miner merely fortunate? Is there a rising trend in solo mining? Can a regular individual set up a hobby mining rig and achieve success with limited resources compared to larger, publicly traded mining enterprises?

The responses are mixed. Solo miners, a phrase that encompasses everything from individual hobbyists to small groups that prefer a more private operation, are finding some success, albeit not in massive numbers—dramatic increases in totals are unlikely.

“Mining independently, without the backing of a significant pool, is akin to playing the lottery,” remarked Scott Norris, CEO of the independent Bitcoin mining firm Optiminer.

In the year 2022, solo miners on the Solo CKPool—a platform enabling anonymous miners to begin without the requirement of running a complete Bitcoin node—successfully mined seven blocks. For 2023, this number rose to 12 blocks, and by 2024, it had reached 16 blocks.

However, a block mined via Solo CKPool (which, contrary to its name, is not a conventional mining pool) does not imply that someone is mining Bitcoin with a minimal hash rate in isolation. This misconception has been vocalized by some observers on Crypto Twitter, but it is inaccurate.

The mining pool landscape is largely controlled by a few large entities—such as Foundry, AntPool, and F2Pool. Miners connect to a pool, collaborate, and share the rewards. With a service like Solo CKPool, once a miner finds a block, they can claim almost the entire reward.

As the Bitcoin network expands, it requires ever-increasing power and resources to mine blocks, with many mining operations now resembling businesses run by publicly traded companies. Some hardcore Bitcoin enthusiasts argue that this trend detracts from Bitcoin’s decentralization principles.

Hobbyist mining rigs, such as the Bitaxe and FutureBit Apollo, retail for between $200 and $500, becoming sought-after devices among “Bitcoin maximalists.” In January, a FutureBit Apollo managed to solve a block—an achievement made possible only thanks to a donation of hash rate (the computational power dedicated to supporting the network) from other machines by a nonprofit organization.

The initiative aimed to “take down the monopolistic mining structure to enable access to Bitcoin and freedom technology for everyone,” explained the pseudonymous Bitcoin miner Econoalchemist on X during that period.

Despite the slim chances, the uptick in hobbyists might be contributing to the noticeable increase in individual block victories recently. In an interview with Decrypt, Econoalchemist pointed out the recent rise in solo accomplishments.

“More frequently, we see that a single machine [mining a block] is a Bitaxe or a similar compact mining device quietly operating in someone’s home,” he remarked.

According to Norris from Optiminer, conglomerates can successfully mine blocks without being part of a major pool, simply by leveraging significant hash power.

Moreover, even Solo Satoshi, a Houston-based company selling mining gear like the Bitaxe Gamma, states on its website that using a $180 Bitaxe unit with a hashing power of 1.2 terahashes per second offers a mere 0.00068390% probability daily to mine a block.

Yet, Matt Howard, the founder of Solo Satoshi, emphasizes that the essence of solo mining extends beyond just monetary gain.

“The main objective is enhancing decentralization. While finding a block and acquiring the Bitcoin reward is icing on the cake,” he stated. “Bitcoin maximalists recognize the importance of maintaining a decentralized mining environment.”

Edited by James Rubin