Small-Time Bitcoin Miner Beats Odds, Wins Full Block Reward of 3.14 BTC Using $150 Device

A solo Bitcoin miner using a palm-sized Bitaxe device struck block 957382 on July 9 at approximately 03:30 UTC, netting the full 3.1382 BTC block reward worth roughly $200,000. The hobbyist was mining through Public Pool, and the device itself costs between $150 and $200, according to multiple reports.

"A hobbyist running a single Bitaxe device just won Bitcoin's biggest lottery."

news.bitcoin.comBitcoin’s Lottery Jackpot: Solo Home Miner Wins $200,000 With a $150 Mining Device

The miner’s tiny hashrate of roughly 1 TH/s stands in stark contrast to the global network’s immense computational power. Cointelegraph reported that the event pushed total payouts to solo Bitcoin miners to $4.7 million over the past year, underscoring how rare such a win is. The reward consisted of the 3.125 BTC subsidy plus approximately 0.0132 BTC in transaction fees.

CointelegraphSolo Bitcoin miner wins $200,000 block reward using budget $200 Bitaxe rig

"While the vast majority of Bitcoin mining is now dominated by large operations with massive ASIC farms, events like this underscore that the protocol itself remains permissionless."

cryptotimes.ioBitcoin Mining Miracle: A $150 Miner Wins $200K BTC in Block Reward

Crypto.news added that the miner had been running the Bitaxe for about eight hours on Public Pool before hitting the block. The cryptocurrency community widely celebrated the achievement as a reminder that individual participation in Bitcoin’s security is still possible, even against overwhelming odds.

crypto.newsSolo Bitcoin miner earns $200K block reward with $150 Bitaxe

The lucky block came at a time when industrial mining pools typically capture nearly all new coins, making a solo miner’s success a statistical anomaly. The win also highlights the lottery-like nature of solo mining, where a small upfront investment can yield a massive return if the right hash is found.