Solo Bitcoin Miner Hits the Jackpot With $200,000 Block Reward

Another solo miner has beaten the odds and processed a block on the biggest crypto network—pocketing 3.275 Bitcoin, or just shy of $200,000 as a reward.

The lucky miner processed block number 858,978 at 12:21pm Eastern Time, according to blockchain data. A total of 2,391 transactions were contained in the block, and the miner received $199,094 worth of Bitcoin for the work.

Bitcoin mining is the business of processing blocks on the Bitcoin network. Blocks are full of data and are part of the cryptocurrency’s blockchain—a super-secure ledger containing transparent information about transactions.

When blocks are processed, miners are rewarded with newly minted Bitcoins. But it’s a difficult process: Mining has gotten more difficult over the years as the network has grown and become more secure.

And miners are now rewarded less BTC as a reward for their troubles. In April, the Bitcoin protocol’s quadrennial halving event took place, slashing miner rewards from 6.25 Bitcoins to 3.125.

Miners today are typically companies that run operations out of warehouses full of expensive, specialized machinery, often giving them an edge over individual miners.

Sometimes, though, a solo miner can get lucky—although it’s getting rarer and rarer for such a thing to happen. Last month, another solo miner hit the jackpot by solving a block and taking home a $200,000 reward.

Edited by Andrew Hayward