Bitcoin

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Felix

A Bitcoin miner has achieved the rare feat of processing a block on their own, which netted a payday of around $180,000.
Block 860749, mined on Sept. 10, contained 5,935 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/how-to-mine-bitcoin-a-beginners-guide-to-mine-btc" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">transactions with a reward</a> of ‎3.169 Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC</a>) worth around $182,505 given to the mining pool Solo CK, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://mempool.space/block/00000000000000000002bbf819cea419c9e3bb0d3f912fe32d655a1d2439a985" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">according</a> to Bitcoin block explorer Mempool.space.
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 <img alt="Bitcoin miner solves block alone, grabs $180,000 reward" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/0191defb-a183-7dd1-8b53-587f7067bb22">
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 Solo miners solving blocks is rare due to the hashrate requirements, but it’s not impossible. Source: Mempool.space&nbsp;
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Despite its name, Solo CK is a <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/how-long-does-it-take-to-mine-1-bitcoin" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">mining pool</a> combining the hashrate of multiple smaller miners — but it only distributes the reward to the one responsible for solving the block.
In this case, the successful miner used 629 petahashes worth of hashrate when the block was solved, a tiny 0.098% of the total power securing the blockchain, which clocked in at 644.91 exahashes per second (EH/s), <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://ycharts.com/indicators/bitcoin_network_hash_rate#:~:text=Bitcoin%20Network%20Hash%20Rate%20is,62.98%25%20from%20one%20year%20ago." rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">data</a> from Bitcoin transaction tracker YCharts shows.
The <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-bitcoin-hash-rate-and-why-does-it-matter" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin hashrate</a> recently hit a <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-network-hashrate-reaches-new-all-time-high" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">new all-time high</a> of 742 EH/s on Sept. 1, jumping 62% from a year ago when the hashrate was 395.70 EH/s.
A higher hashrate requires miners to use more computing power, increases energy costs, and increases verification and transaction times, making it challenging for solo miners to validate a block successfully.
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 <img alt="Bitcoin miner solves block alone, grabs $180,000 reward" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/0191defc-3f80-7c7f-8bee-6d2f42985c40">
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 The Bitcoin network hashrate spiked to a new all-time high at the start of September. Source: Ycharts&nbsp;
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A solo miner has solved a block only 290 times out of the 859,000 blocks produced since Bitcoin went live in 2009.&nbsp;
Large mining firms such as Bit Digital, Riot Blockchain and <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/marathon-digital-mine-16m-kaspa-tokens-diversify-bitcoin" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Marathon Digital generally validate the most blocks</a> as they each command massive amounts of hash power.&nbsp;
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miner-monthly-revenue-11-month-low" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin miners see worst revenues in 11 months as difficulty climbs</a>
The Solo CK pool has been responsible for solving another 14 other blocks in the last year, receiving 59.3 Bitcoin for the effort, currently worth $3.4 million.
A miner from the Solo CK pool also <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/solo-bitcoin-miner-wins-200k-reward-against-odds" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">processed a block on Aug. 30</a>, earning the miner nearly $200,000.&nbsp;
Another solo miner from <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/solo-bitcoin-miner-defies-odds-to-mine-valid-btc-block-gets-150k-block-reward" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Solo CK also hit the jackpot </a>after they <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://mempool.space/block/00000000000000000000f0235e50becc0b3bc91231e236f67736d64b1813704b" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">solved</a> block 853,742, netting a reward of around $210,000 on July 25.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-price-all-time-highs-donald-trump-election-sec-gary-gensler-felix-hartmann-hall-of-flame/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin will ‘start ripping’ as Trump’s polls improve: Felix Hartmann, X Hall of Flame</a>

Bitcoin miner solves block alone, grabs $180,000 reward

Cointelegraph

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