Solo Bitcoin Miner Strikes Gold Again
Solo Bitcoin miners are continuing to have a successful year, despite the increasing difficulty of mining the digital currency. On Thursday, an individual miner successfully processed a block on the Bitcoin network and earned a total of 3.329 Bitcoin, valued at $222,438. The block contained 3,285 transactions and was processed at 4:18am ET, according to blockchain data.
Bitcoin mining involves the energy-intensive task of processing blocks on the cryptocurrency’s network. These blocks contain transaction data and contribute to the Bitcoin blockchain, which is known for its high level of security. Miners receive newly minted coins as a reward for processing blocks, in addition to transaction fees.
In the early days of Bitcoin, mining could be done by almost anyone using home computers. However, as the network has grown, mining difficulty has significantly increased. Nowadays, mining operations are typically run by large companies in warehouses that consume a substantial amount of electricity.
The mining process became even more challenging in April due to the network’s quadrennial halving event, which reduces miner rewards by half every four years. Prior to the event, miners received 6.25 Bitcoin per block, down from 12.5 Bitcoin before that and 25 BTC before that. The original mining subsidy in 2009 was 50 Bitcoin.
Despite the decreasing rewards, miners are able to sustain their operations due to the rising value of Bitcoin over the years. Since the first halving in 2012, Bitcoin has surged by 548,604% to its current price of around $67,650.
While mining is now dominated by large operations, solo miners still exist and occasionally strike it big by processing blocks on their own. This year, solo miners have had notable successes in April, July, August, and September, with the latest victory occurring on Thursday.
Edited by Andrew Hayward