Did a Solo Bitcoin Miner Really Win a $326,000 Reward?

A Bitcoin miner bagged an enormous reward of three.151 BTC—or $326,337 at at present’s costs—after fixing a block alone, in accordance with blockchain information. 

Block 899,826 was processed by a “solo miner”—one thing that not often occurs. 

However in accordance with eagle-eyed observers on X, the image is not so simple as it seems. 

The miner apparently obtained a hashrate from elsewhere, software program engineer of the CK Miner pool stated on the platform. 

Dr CK, who’s the administrator of the Solo.ckpool, a pool for impartial miners, stated that it was “apparent” the miner rented the hashpower. 

“This hashrate was nearly actually a rental based mostly on there being just one employee, although the account has been mining for some time with a a lot decrease hashrate,” he wrote. 

Decrypt reached out to the mining pool for extra remark. 

Decrypt beforehand spoke with specialists about how regardless of the actual fact extra “solo miners” have been hitting the jackpot, they usually have been getting assist—i.e. hashrate—from elsewhere. 

And “solo miner”—because the time period seems on blockchain information web sites—would not essentially imply that one particular person with restricted assets is minting new cash by themself. Slightly, it might simply imply a mining operation that is not an enormous model or publicly traded firm that dominates the Bitcoin mining business. 

Hashrate is the computational energy used to mine Bitcoin. When blocks—containing transaction information—are processed by miners and added to the blockchain, miners are rewarded for his or her work with newly minted Bitcoins. 

However mining Bitcoin is a tricky business: As soon as one thing you can do at house on a PC, the business now’s large and operations are sometimes warehouses utilizing large quantities of electrical energy with a view to course of blocks. 

Getting into the house is not for the risk-averse, both—regardless of a crypto-friendly president now within the White Home and low cost vitality out there in mining hubs across the U.S. Other than the aggressive surroundings, the rewards for miners have decreased to three.125 Bitcoin since final yr’s halving.

Edited by James Rubin