An event has occurred on the Bitcoin network that once again proves: anything is possible in cryptocurrency. A solo miner, using a compact Bitaxe device costing between $60 and $150, managed to mine block #957,382. They did so through the Public Pool, and their reward was 3.1382 BTC — approximately $200,000 at the current exchange rate.
The equipment ran for about eight hours with an average hashrate of 995.2 GH/s, equivalent to roughly 1 TH/s. To put this into perspective: at this power level, the probability of finding a block is approximately once every 18,000 years. Nevertheless, luck was on this solo miner's side. This is already the second documented case of a single Bitaxe successfully finding a block through Public Pool.
Technology on the Edge of Fantasy
Bitaxe is an open-source ASIC miner based on the Bitmain BM1370 chip, which is used in industrial Antminer S21 setups. The Bitaxe Gamma series models deliver between 1 and 1.3 TH/s with a power consumption of just 15-21 W. This is not just a hobby device, but proof that even minimal power can yield results if fortune is on your side.
Since the beginning of 2026, solo miners have found 12 blocks. The last similar case occurred on June 29, when a Solo CKPool participant received 3.16 BTC. And on May 31, another miner mined a block using a cluster of 14 Canaan Nano devices with a total hashrate of 157 TH/s via the Braiins Solo service.
The Statistics Speak for Themselves
Over the past 12 months, solo miners have found 24 blocks — a 41% increase compared to the previous year. Total payouts amounted to 75.44 BTC. The average interval between finds was 15.2 days, with the longest gap reaching 58 days. These figures show that solo mining is not dead — it has simply become the domain of the persistent and the lucky.
Notably, amid the rise in solo miner activity, Bitcoin's mining difficulty dropped by 5% on July 12 — to 127.17 T. In mid-June, the decline was 10.09%, but the indicator then recovered by 7.15%. This reflects volatility in the industry, where mining companies are increasingly shifting toward artificial intelligence due to pressure on profitability.
My expert commentary: This case is not just a stroke of luck, but a signal that Bitcoin remains a decentralized asset accessible for participation even with minimal resources. However, one should not be fooled: such victories are the exception, not the rule. For most solo miners, this remains a lottery with astronomical odds. The 41% increase in finds over the year is more likely the result of a growing number of participants rather than a change in probability.