An unknown Bitcoin miner using a simple, old device with very weak computational power succeeded in mining a full Bitcoin block, which earned him a massive reward of 3.146 Bitcoins, equivalent to about $270,000 at current prices, according to CoinDesk.
Bitcoin mining refers to a process in which individuals compete to solve a highly complex mathematical puzzle; with the aim of confirming a group of transactions known as a "block." Bitcoin itself is a ledger that records all of these transactions.
The amazement in this story lies in the fact that this miner's chances of success were extremely slim; about 1 in 180 million. The device he used represents only a very small fraction of the total computational power of the global Bitcoin network.
Instead of joining large mining pools that share rewards among thousands of participants, this miner chose to play with a solo mining model through a platform called "CKpool."
Kon Kolivas, the creator of the CKpool platform, confirmed the miner's win, stating that the miner's chance of solving a single block in any given day is "one in 180 million." The miner used an old-generation ASIC chip, capable of processing about 6 TH/s, and contributed shares to the CKpool solo mining infrastructure, retaining the full block reward minus the pool fee of 2%.
The CKpool model allows amateurs to experience solo mining by routing their work through the pool's infrastructure. This model provides a lightweight setup that connects miners to the Bitcoin network without the need to run a full node or manage their backend equipment. This means they retain ownership of the individual reward instead of sharing the reward among many contributors as is the case in standard pooled mining.
For this miner, this option was fruitful. However, the economics of solo mining remain challenging. Running ASIC devices and paying for electricity and cooling make individual success a highly speculative endeavor, or ultimately, a gamble.
Source: CoinDesk
