Solo Miner Finds Bitcoin Block With Just 70 TH/s, Earns $222,000

A lone Bitcoin miner operating with a mere 70 TH/s of computing power has successfully discovered block #944,306 on the Bitcoin network, earning a reward of 3.128 BTC ($222,074). The feat was accomplished on April 9, 2026, via the CKPool mining pool.

A One-in-300-Year Event

On top of the block subsidy, the miner collected an additional 0.003 BTC ($212) in transaction fees. The block contained 6,755 transactions in total.

CKPool administrator Con Kolivas explained that a miner with this level of hashpower has roughly a 1 in 100,000 chance of finding a block on any given day. On average, such a result would occur only once every 300 years of continuous operation.

«Congratulations to miner bc1q~edvj with only 70TH for solving the 313th solo block at eusolo.ckpool.org! A miner of this size has only a 1 in ~100,000 chance of solving a block per day, or once every 300 years!» — Dr -ck (@ckpooldev), original post

The 70 TH/s hashrate is equivalent to a Bitmain Antminer S17+ from 2019. This miner's equipment represents approximately 0.0000069% of Bitcoin's total network hashrate.

Why This Matters

Events like this highlight the probabilistic nature of Bitcoin mining: even outdated hardware can theoretically find a block, though the odds are vanishingly small. It serves as a reminder that the Bitcoin protocol still allows small participants to compete, despite the overwhelming dominance of industrial-scale mining operations.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's network hashrate declined 6% during Q1 2026, dropping from 1,066 EH/s to 1,004 EH/s. This suggests challenging economic conditions for large mining operators, some of whom have been forced to shut down machines or pivot their infrastructure.

A Streak of Solo Wins

Block #944,306 marks the second successful solo-mined block in April 2026 alone. On April 3, another CKPool participant with 230 TH/s found a block and earned 3.139 BTC (approximately $210,000).

Despite these headlines, solo block discoveries remain exceedingly rare. According to data from Bennet, solo miners found just 22 blocks over the past year, earning a combined 69.24 BTC. Compared to the tens of thousands of blocks mined annually by industrial pools, this is a negligible fraction.

Still, each instance draws attention to solo mining and underscores Bitcoin's decentralized design, where even a single participant running aging hardware can claim a full block reward.