Bitcoin miners who work alone defy odds and keep getting block rewards

Even though the hashrate of the Bitcoin network is near its highest level, solo miners are still able to claim the full block reward.

Bitcoin has been in the news a lot lately.BTCThe hashrate of the ) network hovers around 902 Exahashes Per Second (EH/s), which is just below its peak. according Blockchain.com. The figures show a rising level of competition and difficulty.

But last week, an individual miner exceeded these odds. securing block 907,283 A miner who earned the 3.125 BTC full reward via Solo CK, which was worth more than $372,000 in the past. A miner received $3,436 more in transaction fees.

It wasn’t a one-off. In July another miner had 2.3 petahashes. claimed a full block reward. Similar results were recorded in June, March You can also find out more about the following: back in February.

“We’re seeing solo miners win blocks not because of luck, but because they’re running powerful, efficient hardware,” Samuel Li is the chief technology officer at ASICKey. He also added that today’s miners are designed to deliver. “serious hashrate” The traditional power supply is not required.

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

Focus on efficiency

Li said that for single miners efficiency is important. “Take our KEYMINER A1—it draws just 650 watts but delivers 1,100 TH/s on Bitcoin, with monthly profits around $1,200. For those diversifying into altcoins, it can earn up to $3,800 per month mining Dash,” He noted.

ASICKey introduced the KEYMINER A1 in November last year, along with the KEYMINER X.

The company claims that the KEYMINER X can deliver 2,300 terahashes per second (TH/s), while the PRO version offers 5,800 TH/s with 2,800 watts. The company expects the PRO to generate up to $6300 per month under current market conditions.

Although the efficiency of application-specific integrated (ASICs) has increased, there are still some limitations. “fundamental odds [of solo miners winning] haven’t shifted much,” Li said.

“Solo mining is still mostly a lottery, unless you control tens of PH/s, which is realistically the bare minimum for having a measurable statistical shot at success within a reasonable time frame,” He also added.

Li said that with the current Bitcoin hashrate a miner who has one petahash of hashpower would have a chance of 1 in 650,000 of solving a new block each 10 minutes. One petahash (PH/s), is equal to 1,000 terrahashes (TH/s).

Related: Tether plans to open-source Bitcoin mining OS; CEO says ‘no need’ for 3rd party vendors

Why is mining going alone?

Li confirms that there have been an “modest resurgence” There are many reasons why people may be interested in mining solo. “Some miners are choosing it not for predictable income, but for the possibility of a big reward—6.25 BTC plus fees—which can be transformative if won,” He noted.

Although monetary incentives have a major role to play, others are motivated by ideologies that value network decentralization, and their ability to work independently from centralized mining pool.

As per data According to the Hashrate Index report, US-based Foundry USA is still dominating Bitcoin mining with 29,3% of total hashrate. AntPool is next with 16.2%. ViaBTC, F2Pool and F2Pool are respectively holding 12.0% and 116%.

Theoretically, if a pool or a group of pools control 50%+ hashrate they can theoretically become the winner. launch a 51% attackThis would enable them to spend coins twice. Even though it is rare, and expensive, this event could undermine trust in the system.