A Bitcoin mining device called “Bitaxe,” with a hashrate of only 500 gigahashes per second (Gh/s), defied the odds by mining a block on July 24. This achievement is remarkable considering that the device has just a 1 in 1.1 billion chance of achieving this feat every ten minutes.
Produced by D-Central Technologies, the Bitaxe is a compact device approximately the size of a human hand, as highlighted by the YouTube channel “How Much?” The device managed to mine Bitcoin block number 853742 on July 24, earning the lucky miner a reward of approximately $206,000 based on the current price of BTC.
The accomplishment was confirmed by Altair Technology, a Bitcoin mining device retailer, through a post on X. The blockchain data from Solo CKPool revealed that a total of 2,652.36 BTC worth $176,896,079 were sent in the block, with the average transaction being 0.6093 BTC worth $40,636.53. Solo CKPool, the node infrastructure service to which the Bitaxe was connected, earned a total reward of 3.13 BTC worth $208,751, including transaction fees.
To put things into perspective, the current total hash power of the Bitcoin network is around 551.30 exahashes per second (Eh/s), which is significantly higher than the Bitaxe device’s hashrate. The device’s chances of mining a block every ten minutes were incredibly slim, at 1 in 1.1 billion.
Bitcoin mining is known for being energy-intensive, with miners facing significant electricity costs regardless of their success in mining a block. Solo Bitcoin mining can be likened to a high-stakes lottery due to the financial burden it entails. However, for this fortunate solo miner with the Bitaxe device, the risk has certainly paid off handsomely.