A solo bitcoin miner recently hit the jackpot in a lottery-like stroke of luck, turning a modest investment into an outsized gain.
The miner equipped with a small, hobbyist-grade device called a Bitaxe recently struck Bitcoin block number 957,382 and walked away with 3.1382 BTC, worth roughly $200,000.
The miner was running the rig for just eight hours through the Public Pool service. His average hash rate? A measly 995 GH/s, or about 1 terahash per second.
This marks the second time a single Bitaxe has solo-mined a block on Public Pool.
Data tracking handle Public Pool posted the win on X.
What is a Bitaxe?
It’s an open-source, credit-card-sized ASIC miner powered by the same Bitmain BM1370 chip found in massive industrial Antminer S21 machines. The Bitaxe Gamma version pumps out 1 to 1.3 TH/s while using just 15-21 watts of power. You can buy one for $60 to $150.
Think of it as the mining equivalent of winning the lottery with a scratch-off ticket from a gas station.
Solo mining is having a moment
This isn’t the first time a solo miner has made big gains on a small investment.