Solo miners continue to defy expectations by successfully claiming full Bitcoin block rewards despite the network experiencing record mining difficulty.

The Bitcoin network’s hashrate recently reached nearly 902 exahashes per second (EH/s), according to Blockchain.com, just below its historical peak. This surge in computational power, driven by increasing difficulty, significantly diminishes the odds for individual miners.

Recent Solo Wins

Despite these odds, a solo miner operating through the Solo CK pool recently won block 907,283, securing the entire 3.125 BTC reward (~$372,000) and an additional $3,436 in transaction fees.

[Image: Placeholder for Blockchain.com hashrate chart]

Bitcoin network hashrate. Source: Blockchain.com

Related: Solo Bitcoin miner scores $373,000 block reward

The Role of Efficiency

Samuel Li, Chief Technology Officer of ASICKey, attributes these successes not to luck, but to advancements in mining hardware efficiency.

“We’re seeing solo miners win blocks because they’re running powerful, efficient hardware,” Li stated. He highlighted devices like their KEYMINER A1, which achieves approximately 1,100 TH/s while consuming only 650 watts, generating $1,200 monthly profit mining Bitcoin and up to $3,800 mining Dash.

Hard Hash Reality

Despite hardware improvements, the underlying statistical challenge persists, according to Li.

“Solo mining is fundamentally a lottery unless one controls tens of petahashes (PH/s),” he explained. In today’s environment, a miner with 1 PH/s (1,000 TH/s) faces roughly a 1 in 650,000 chance of winning a block every 10 minutes.

Drivers for Solos

Samuel Li identifies two main factors fueling the current trend.

“Some miners choose solo mining for the potential of a transformative reward—6.25 BTC plus fees. Others value network decentralization and independence from large pools.”

The resurgence challenges the dominance of major mining pools like Foundry USA (29.3% market share) AntPool (16.2%), ViaBTC (12.0%) and F2Pool (11.6%). While pool consolidation could theoretically threaten network security, numerous small-solo operations, particularly using efficient hardware, are seen as contributing to network decentralization goals.

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[Image: Placeholder for Hashrate Index mining pools graph]

Bitcoin mining pools. Source: Hashrate Index

“Ultimately, more solo miners operating on clean energy and efficient hardware could represent a healthier, more decentralized Bitcoin network aligned with the original vision of permissionless participation,” Li concluded.