A hobbyist running a small-scale mining operation achieved something extraordinary this week. They single-handedly found a valid Bitcoin block, earning a reward of over €250,000. It’s a rare event, but exactly the kind of moment that demonstrates how open and surprising the Bitcoin network can still be.
Extreme Luck for a Small Player #
An amateur miner managed to solve block 924,569 solo with minimal computing power, just 1.2 terahashes per second. This is minuscule compared to the massive data centers that often provide millions of times more power. Nevertheless, they received the full reward of 3.146 bitcoin, currently worth about €250,000.
According to CKpool founder Con Kolivas, the odds of such a success were about one in 1.2 million per day. He called the miner “an extremely lucky person.” It shows that even a single machine, no matter how small, still has a chance to find an entire block.
More Solo Miners Win Big This Year #
Notably, this isn’t the first case this year. Previously, another solo miner independently found a block via the Public Pool platform, earning nearly €300,000 in rewards. That instance also involved a full payout, including transaction fees.
That achievement was very similar to the current discovery. An individual, without intermediaries, can contribute to the network. The barrier to entry for mining is lowering as smaller ASIC devices become more affordable. The chance of finding a block remains small, but this year’s examples show it’s not impossible.
Mining Firms Shift Towards Data Centers #
While small hobbyists sometimes unexpectedly score big wins, the professional mining world is changing rapidly. Large companies are increasingly choosing to direct their computing power toward artificial intelligence instead of Bitcoin. Due to the halving and higher energy costs, Bitcoin mining margins are shrinking.
Companies like Riot, TeraWulf, and Iris Energy are converting their facilities into powerful data centers for AI tasks, such as training chatbots or image models. Iris Energy purchased thousands of Nvidia chips and subsequently saw its stock rise by more than five hundred percent. CleanSpark and Galaxy Digital are also now investing heavily in this direction.
Whether it’s a small home miner or a gigantic data center, the mining world is constantly in motion. But one thing doesn’t change: the Bitcoin network remains open to everyone. Perhaps the next big jackpot is just waiting in a Dutch shed or living room.