A Bitcoin miner using an open-source Bitaxe mining rig has defied the odds, winning the Bitcoin lottery by mining a complete block worth 6.25 BTC. With Bitcoin’s value hovering around $33,000, the user earned a staggering $206,000 from their diminutive (human hand-sized) device, which was a mere $179 hardware investment.
A miner strikes gold with $179 handheld device
A Bitcoin miner using an open-source Bitaxe mining rig has defied the odds, winning the Bitcoin lottery by mining a complete block worth 6.25 BTC. With Bitcoin’s value hovering around $33,000, the user earned a staggering $206,000 from their diminutive (human hand-sized) device, which was a mere $179 hardware investment.
The miner’s odds of winning were astronomical, around 1 in 1.1 billion. Altair Technology, one of the few sellers of the open-source ASIC Bitcoin officially endorsed by Bitaxe, shared the news on Twitter/X, congratulating the miner “who likely mined the first solo BTC block with a Bitaxe on @ckpooldev with ~500 Gh hashrate!”
Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process, and the entire Bitcoin network boasts a hash power of 552.49 exahash (Eh/s) or 552,490,000,000 Gh/s per second. Dividing this by the Bitaxe’s 500 Gh/s performance yields a result of 1.1 billion. This means the miner had a 1 in 1.1 billion chance of mining a block every ten minutes, making it 3-4 times less likely than winning the Powerball or Mega Millions lotteries.
Bitcoin mining is often likened to playing the lottery because miners must pay for electricity regardless of whether they acquire BTC. It’s a process with a low probability of return and significant upfront costs. Using a sub-petahash device like the Bitaxe makes the odds even more daunting, highlighting the extraordinary luck of this particular miner.
This event underscores the unpredictable nature of Bitcoin mining and the potential for life-changing rewards, even with modest investments. However, it’s crucial to remember that such outcomes are rare and shouldn’t be taken as an indication of typical results.
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