Bitcoin Solo Mining: Can You Still Win a Block on Your Own?
What is Solo Mining?
Bitcoin mining is the process of verifying transactions and adding them to the blockchain. Miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles, and the first one to solve it gets rewarded with newly minted Bitcoin.
💡 Solo mining is when a miner works independently, without joining a mining pool.
Instead of combining computing power with others to increase the chances of winning a block, solo miners take on the challenge alone. If they successfully solve a block, they get 100% of the 3.125 BTC reward (plus transaction fees).
However, the chances of solving a block solo are extremely low unless you have massive hashing power.
How Does Bitcoin Mining Work?
Bitcoin mining involves using specialized hardware to perform hash calculations that solve cryptographic puzzles. The process works like this:
- Miners collect pending transactions and put them into a candidate block.
- They begin solving a mathematical problem (finding a valid hash that meets Bitcoin’s difficulty target).
- The first miner to solve the puzzle broadcasts the block to the network.
- Other nodes verify it, and if valid, the block is added to the blockchain.
- The winning miner receives a block reward (3.125 BTC until the next halving in 2024) and transaction fees.
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty adjusts every 2,016 blocks (about every two weeks) to ensure blocks are mined approximately every 10 minutes, making solo mining extremely difficult for individuals with low hashpower.
How Likely Are You to Win a Block Solo?
Solo mining is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor.
Since Bitcoin’s total network hash rate is at all-time highs, a small miner with a few terahashes (TH/s) has an incredibly low probability of mining a block.
For example:
- A 100 TH/s miner (a top-tier ASIC like an Antminer S19) has less than a 0.0001% chance of solving a block per day.
- It may take months or even years to win a single block.
- However, if successful, the reward is massivefor a single person: 3.125 BTC.
Because of this, most miners join pools, where rewards are shared proportionally based on contributed hashpower, ensuring consistent but smaller earnings.
Best Use Cases for Solo Mining
- Luck-Based Mining: If you’re willing to take a chance and wait potentially years for a payout.
- Low Electricity Costs: If you have access to nearly free electricity, solo mining can be viable.
- Mining with Old or Low Hashpower Devices: While small devices will rarely win, using Lumerin can help increase your chances (more on that below).
- Privacy Concerns: Mining solo allows you to avoid relying on pools that could be centralized or censor transactions.
How to Use Lumerin to Mine Solo & Improve Your Odds
Bitcoin solo mining devices, like USB miners or small ASICs, often have very low hashpower (e.g., 1 TH/s or less), making solo mining nearly impossible.
Lumerin enables you to increase your effective hashpower via decentralized hashpower trading.
What Is Lumerin?
Lumerin is a decentralized hashpower marketplace that allows you to buy additional mining power from other miners.
Instead of relying only on your hardware, you can purchase hashpower and direct it toward your solo mining node, increasing your chances of winning a block.
How to Use Lumerin for Solo Mining
- Set Up a Solo Mining Node: You’ll need a Bitcoin node and a mining software like Braiins OS+ or CGMiner.
- Connect to the Hashpower Marketplace: Lumerin allows you to purchase additional hashpower from miners selling excess capacity.
- Direct Hashpower to Your Node: Instead of mining through a pool, direct the purchased hashpower to your solo mining setup.
- Monitor Your Progress: The more hashpower you acquire, the better your chances of solving a block.
Advantages of Solo Mining With Lumerin
- Scale Up Hashpower Without Buying More Hardware: Instead of buying expensive ASICs, rent power when needed. Enjoy increased control, flexibility and access.
- No Pool Fees or Sharing: You get to keep 100% of the rewards.
- Decentralization Benefits: You’re not dependent on a centralized pool and have full control over your mining operations.
So… Is Solo Mining Worth It?
Solo mining Bitcoin is an extremely difficult but potentially rewarding endeavor.
While the odds of winning a block alone are slim, Lumerin’s hashpower marketplace allows small miners to scale up, increasing their solo mining options.
If you’re looking to mine solo without investing in a massive ASIC farm, buying hashpower through Lumerin could be the alternative you need. It only takes a few minutes to get started.
