In a crypto landscape dominated by massive mining farms with datacenter-level performance, an unexpected story has captured global attention. A solo miner, likely using a standard home setup, successfully mined a bitcoin block with a hashrate considered more of a rarity than a competitive tool. His reward exceeded $266,000 in BTC.

A one-in-a-million stroke of luck

The miner solved block 924,569. His machine was the first to find the correct solution to the mathematical puzzle that secures Bitcoin transactions. Experts estimate his hashrate at roughly 1.2 TH/s – just a tiny fraction of what professional hardware delivers.

CKpool founder Con Kolivas called the achievement “extremely lucky.” With such low power, the chance of finding a full block is about one in 1.2 million for each day of mining. The miner ultimately earned over 3.146 BTC including block rewards and fees.

A year favoring solo miners

While rare, 2025 has brought a surprising number of similar success stories. Data from Mempool Space shows that 13 blocks this year were mined by individuals operating outside large pools – roughly one per month.

The trend includes a January case where a solo miner earned more than $347,000. Additional solo wins appeared in February, March, June, and July, though they remain exceptional events.

Big miners shift focus to artificial intelligence

While individuals enjoy extraordinary luck, large mining firms face a different reality. After Bitcoin’s latest halving reduced the base block reward, their margins tightened significantly. As a result, many are exploring new business models.

CleanSpark has started shifting part of its computing power toward AI-focused datacenters. Since announcing the move, its stock price has risen more than ten percent. TeraWulf is pursuing a $500 million investment to build a new datacenter complex in Texas.

Sources:

https://mempool.space/block/00000000000000000001457a4acc5da8e886dddd0a79a6899957a502e0a1977b

https://investors.cleanspark.com/news/news-details/2025/CleanSpark-Announces-Business-Evolution-from-Pure-Play-Bitcoin-Miner-to-Include-AI-Compute-Hires-Industry-Veteran-Jeffrey-Thomas-as-SVP-of-AI-Data-Centers/default.aspx

https://cointelegraph.com/news/solo-bitcoin-miner-wins-266k-after-beating-million-to-one-odds