This event, as unlikely as a jackpot won on a single lottery ticket, has roiled the Bitcoin mining community in recent days, illustrating a case where the “little” can triumph over the “big.” The news was revealed on Twitter from the main developer of the solitaire mining software ckpool: one user succeeded, soloto validate a block.
An incredible 6,25 BTC
With only 2 Peta Hash of computing power, this miner achieved what appeared to be quite a feat. He mined an entire block, winning 6,25 BTC, or approximately $258.000. This victory has been compared to a lottery win, as in traditional mining pools winnings are distributed based on each miner's computing power. In this case, however, the lone miner won the entire reward.
David's victory over Goliath?
In the competitive context of Bitcoin mining, owning 2 Peta Hashes might be seen as a last-ditch effort, but Bitcoin mining, as conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto, remains at its core a sort of lottery on a large scale. Each miner contributes to the overall computing power by trying to solve a cryptographic puzzle. Usually those with more computing power have more possibilities, but from time to time luck can smile even on those with limited means, as demonstrated by this "accident".
This exploit, celebrated by the community, is also interesting for ckpool developers (who receive a 2% commission on the block reward) and comes at a crucial time. At the moment, the Bitcoin world is preparing for the fourth halving scheduled for April 2024, an event that will halve mining rewards! In a twist of history, this adventure comes almost exactly on the anniversary of the first Bitcoin halving, which occurred on November 28, 2012.
