On November 7, two independent Bitcoin miners successfully mined individual blocks, each earning a reward exceeding $230,000. The two events occurred within a seven-hour window, with the Bitcoin blockchain confirming blocks 974,893 and 974,930.
Both participants utilized the solo mining service provided by CKPool. This configuration allowed the miners to retain nearly the full block reward rather than distributing it among members of a larger mining pool.
Mining operations require significant upfront investment in hardware and continuous electricity consumption. Monthly utility costs for a multi-machine setup range between $400 and $1,100, while the time required to find a block can span decades.
Current network conditions make solo mining highly competitive. A small setup consisting of two or three powerful machines has an estimated 1-in-40 probability of successfully finding a block within a one-year period.
