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🎓 Understanding Solo Mining

🟢 Beginner📚 12 min read🔄 Updated Feb 1, 2025
💡
What You'll Learn
This guide explains solo mining from the ground up: how it works, the math behind it, your actual odds, and whether it's right for you. Perfect for beginners who want to understand what they're getting into.

🎰 What is Solo Mining?

Solo mining means mining cryptocurrency blocks entirely by yourself, without joining a mining pool. When you solo mine, you're competing against the entire global network of miners. If you find a block, you get the full block reward - currently 3.125 BTC (worth about $300,000 at $96,000/BTC).

The catch? Your chances of finding a block are extremely small if you don't have massive hashpower. But that's exactly why it's exciting - it's like playing the lottery, except the odds are transparent and verifiable.

The Appeal of Solo Mining 🌟

  • ✓Life-changing payouts: Win 3.125 BTC ($300,000+) in one shot
  • ✓Supporting decentralization: More solo miners = more secure Bitcoin
  • ✓Educational: Learn how Bitcoin mining actually works
  • ✓Fun factor: Every share submitted could be "the one"
  • ✓Minimal pool fees: Keep 98.5-99.5% of your winnings

⚙️ How Solo Mining Works

Bitcoin mining is essentially a race to find a specific number (called a "hash") that meets certain criteria. Here's the simplified process:

The Mining Process 🔄

  1. 1

    Get Block Template

    Your miner requests the current block template from the Bitcoin network (via a pool)

  2. 2

    Hash Guessing

    Your ASIC tries billions of different nonce values per second, looking for a valid hash

  3. 3

    Difficulty Target

    The hash must be below the network difficulty target. Currently, that's about 1 in 110 trillion tries

  4. 4

    Submit Shares

    Your miner submits "shares" (partial solutions) to prove it's working. These don't earn money, but show activity

  5. 5

    Find Block (Jackpot!)

    If you find a valid hash, you've mined a block! The pool broadcasts it and you receive 3.125 BTC

🔥
Using Solo Mining Pools
Even when "solo" mining, you connect to a pool server that coordinates the work. The difference: solo pools send you the FULL block reward if you find it (minus small fee). Recommended pools: MineSolo Solo Lotto (0.5% fee), MineSolo Capped 100 (1.0% fee), MineSolo Capped 10 (1.5% fee) - all at pools.minesolo.io.

🔢 Understanding the Math

Let's break down the actual numbers. Don't worry - we'll keep it simple!

Key Numbers to Know 📊

Network Hashrate
Total global Bitcoin mining power
~750 EH/s
750,000,000 TH/s
Block Time
Average time between blocks
~10 minutes
Block Reward
Current reward per block
3.125 BTC
Blocks Per Day
24 hours ÷ 10 minutes
~144 blocks

The Formula 🧮

Your chance of finding the next block is:

Your Chance = (Your Hashrate ÷ Network Hashrate) × 100%

For example, if you have 1 TH/s and the network is 750,000,000 TH/s, your chance per block is 0.00000013% (1 ÷ 750,000,000).

🎲 Your Real Odds

Here's what your odds look like with different mining equipment. These are approximate and based on current network difficulty:

⚡ Bitaxe (~1.2 TH/s)

Entry-level home miner

🎰
Time to Find 1 Block (Average)
~1,000 years
Chance Per Day
0.0001%
💡
In Lottery Terms
Your odds are similar to winning a $50 scratch-off lottery ticket. Possible? Yes. Likely? No. But someone's Bitaxe WILL eventually win - why not yours?

🏭 Antminer S19 (~110 TH/s)

Professional ASIC

⚡
Time to Find 1 Block (Average)
~11 years
Chance Per Day
0.009%
✅
Better Odds!
With an S19, you have 100x better odds than a Bitaxe. Still unlikely, but blocks HAVE been found with single S19s. Your odds improve significantly with multiple units.

🏢 Mining Farm (10 PH/s)

~100 S19 miners

🎯
Time to Find 1 Block (Average)
~43 days
Chance Per Day
2.3%
✅
Real Odds
At 10 PH/s, you'd expect to find about 8-9 blocks per year. This is where solo mining becomes somewhat predictable.

⚠️ Important: Variance is HUGE

These are average times. You could find a block tomorrow, or never find one. That's the nature of solo mining - pure luck with transparent math!

🏆 Success Stories

Solo mining jackpots DO happen! Here are some recent examples:

🎉

Block 887,212 - March 2025

Found by a single Bitaxe Ultra

A solo miner with just 480 GH/s (0.48 TH/s) found a block worth $263,000. The miner had been running for only 8 months. Total investment: ~$180 for the Bitaxe.

Return on Investment
145,000%
💎

Block 889,975 - March 2025

Found by Bitaxe Gamma 602

Another Bitaxe win! This one was running at 1.2 TH/s and found a block after just 2 months of mining. Estimated odds: 1 in 1,000 years. They beat the odds.

Block Reward
3.125 BTC (~$300,000)
⚡

Multiple S19 Wins - 2024-2025

Several solo blocks found

Throughout 2024-2025, multiple miners running Antminer S19s found solo blocks. Some had just a single unit (~110 TH/s), proving that you don't need a massive farm to win.

✅
The Takeaway
These wins prove solo mining isn't a myth. Small miners CAN and DO win. The math is transparent, the blockchain is fair, and every single hash you submit has a real chance.

🎰 Solo vs Pool Mining

Should you solo mine or join a pool? Here's an honest comparison:

🎰

Solo Mining

Pros:

  • • Win full block reward (3.125 BTC)
  • • Minimal pool fees (0.5%-2%)
  • • Support decentralization
  • • Educational & exciting
  • • Pure lottery ticket

Cons:

  • • Extremely unlikely to win
  • • No regular payouts
  • • Could mine for years with $0
  • • High variance
Expected Lifetime Earnings (1.2 TH/s):
$0 or $300,000
All or nothing!
🏊

Pool Mining

Pros:

  • • Regular daily payouts
  • • Predictable income
  • • Low variance
  • • See results immediately

Cons:

  • • Share rewards with thousands
  • • Pool fees (1-3%)
  • • Earnings still tiny with Bitaxe
  • • Contributes to centralization
  • • Less exciting
Expected Daily Earnings (1.2 TH/s):
~$0.24
~$88/year (minus electricity)

⭐ MineSolo Pools - Best of Both Worlds

Our pools offer different strategies for solo mining with the lowest fees in the industry:

  • •Solo Lotto (0.5%): Pure solo - you keep 99.5% if you find a block. Winner takes all!
  • •Capped 100 (1.0%): Equal split among participants, max 100 TH/s per miner. Better odds than pure solo!
  • •Capped 10 (1.5%): Perfect for Bitaxe & home miners, max 10 TH/s. Your tiny miner gets same share as everyone!
Visit MineSolo Pools →
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The Reality
With Bitaxe-sized equipment, you won't make money either way due to electricity costs. Solo mining is purely for fun, supporting Bitcoin, and the lottery ticket aspect. Pool mining at least gives you regular tiny payouts to track.

🤔 Is Solo Mining Worth It?

The honest answer: it depends on your goals.

✅ Solo Mine If You Want To:

  • ✓Play the lottery with transparent odds
  • ✓Support Bitcoin decentralization
  • ✓Learn how Bitcoin mining actually works
  • ✓Have something cool to show friends
  • ✓Keep a tiny chance of a life-changing win

❌ Don't Solo Mine If You Expect To:

  • ✗Make money or cover electricity costs
  • ✗Actually find a block (unless you have 10+ PH/s)
  • ✗Generate passive income
  • ✗Get rich quick
🔥
The Sweet Spot
The best solo miners treat it like buying lottery tickets - they know they probably won't win, but they enjoy the possibility. The $50-200 spent on a Bitaxe is entertainment value, educational value, and a Bitcoin lottery ticket that runs 24/7.

🚀 Ready to Start Solo Mining?

If you've decided solo mining is for you, here's your next steps:

⚡ Bitaxe Setup Guide

Complete step-by-step tutorial for setting up your Bitaxe with MineSolo Pools

🌊 Pool Configuration

Connect to MineSolo Pools and configure backups for maximum uptime

⭐ MineSolo Pools

Visit our pools - lowest fees in the industry (0.5%-1.5%)

🎰 Calculate Your Odds

Use MineSolo.io to see your exact probability of finding a block

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