Against astronomical odds, a solo miner struck digital gold last week, securing an entire Bitcoin block with nothing more than a tiny Bitaxe mining device. Block number 887,212 was mined on March 10, 2025, netting the lucky individual a hefty 3.15 BTC reward—worth about $263,000. Talk about winning the crypto lottery.
The miner used a modest Bitaxe Ultra with just 480 GH/s of hashpower. For perspective, that’s roughly 500 times less powerful than industrial mining rigs. The setup cost? Between $169-$299. The probability of this happening? Less than 1 in 1 million per day. Statisticians estimate it would take about 3,500 years on average to find a block with this setup. Yeah, you read that right.
This marks the 297th solo block found through solo.ckpool and the second-ever mined with a Bitaxe device. The first Bitaxe success happened just last July. Lightning struck twice, apparently. This achievement adds to the estimated 270 solo-mined blocks since 2011, according to prior Cointelegraph data.
At the time of discovery, Bitcoin’s network hashrate stood at a staggering 788.86 EH/s—53% higher than the previous year. Mining difficulty? At an all-time high. The odds were stacked higher than a Vegas casino’s deck. Unlike this fortunate miner, most Bitcoin enthusiasts rely on specialized ASIC hardware that costs between $4,000 to $12,000 for any realistic chance of mining success.
Here’s the kicker: a slightly more powerful 1,200 GH/s Bitaxe would generate about $3 in annual profit after electricity costs. Three. Dollars. Per. Year. But this miner just pocketed over a quarter million in one lucky shot. The dramatic shift from personal computer mining to specialized equipment shows why mining pools emerged as a necessity for most participants.
Bitcoin was trading around $98,000 when our unlikely hero mined the block containing 3,071 transactions. The reward included the standard 3.125 BTC plus 0.025 BTC in fees.
While large mining pools like Foundry USA and AntPool dominate the industry, this rare win proves David can occasionally beat Goliath in the crypto world. It’s like watching someone win the Powerball with a single ticket.
Will this inspire more solo mining attempts? Probably. Will most succeed? Not a chance. But sometimes, against all mathematical probability, lightning strikes.
