Look, I spend way too much time tracking solo mining wins on Twitter and Reddit. Like, my dad thinks I’m weird for following every single solo block find like it’s the Super Bowl. But honestly? These stories are what keep me mining.
Every time someone finds a block solo, it proves the dream is real. It’s not just theory or math — it’s actual people, with actual hardware, hitting actual blocks. Some with insane hashrates, some with basically nothing.
So I started keeping my own tracker. This guide walks you through the most notable solo-mined blocks in crypto history, how to track new finds yourself, and what we can learn from these wins. Real talk: some of these stories will blow your mind.
Step 1: Understanding What Makes a Solo Block “Notable”
Not every solo block makes history. Finding a block with 100 TH/s on Bitcoin? Cool, but kinda expected if you mine long enough.
The blocks that make my tracker are different. Here’s what makes a solo find truly notable:
- Extremely low hashrate relative to network — Someone mining with 0.000001% of network power and hitting a block
- Unexpected hardware — Like that Bitaxe finding a Bitcoin block with only 480 GH/s
- Perfect timing — Blocks found during price peaks, right after halving, or first attempts
- Massive payouts — When the block reward timing was perfect and the coin price mooned
- Technical innovation — Rented hashpower, merged mining, or unusual setups
The math behind why some finds matter more: Bitcoin network hashrate is around 600 EH/s right now. That’s 600,000,000,000 GH/s. When someone with 500 GH/s finds a block? That’s a 1 in 1.2 million chance per block. Finding it anyway is basically lottery-level luck.
Here’s the thing: I track these because they prove solo mining isn’t just for industrial farms. Regular people with small setups can win. It’s rare, but it happens.
Step 2: The Most Famous Bitcoin Solo Block Finds
Bitcoin solo blocks are the holy grail. Current BTC price sits at $66,506, so a solo block means 3.125 BTC (after the 2026 halving) plus transaction fees.
Let me walk you through the ones that made crypto Twitter explode:
The Bitaxe 480 GH/s Miracle (January 2026)
This is probably my favorite find ever. A miner running a Bitaxe — basically a USB stick Bitcoin miner with 480 GH/s — found block 826,669.
The odds? Astronomical. At network difficulty back then, this was roughly a 1 in 1 million chance per day of mining. The payout was around $258,000.
I wrote a full breakdown of this find: Bitaxe Found Bitcoin Block: $258K Win With 480 GH/s Miner
What makes this notable: This wasn’t a farm. This wasn’t rented hashpower. This was genuine solo mining with hardware most people would call a toy. It proved that even the smallest miners have a shot.
The $330K NiceHash Rental Win (March 2026)
Someone rented 500 TH/s on NiceHash for solo mining. Total cost: around $3,000 for a few days. They hit a block.
Payout after fees and rental costs: approximately $330,000 profit.
This strategy is wild because you’re essentially buying lottery tickets with better odds. Instead of mining for years with your own hardware, you rent massive hashpower for short bursts. Sometimes it works.
Full story here: Rented Hashpower Solo Block: $330K Win Using NiceHash
Honestly, this changed how I think about solo mining. You don’t need to own the hardware. You need the guts to take the risk.
The 22 Solo Blocks Found in 2026
Last year was insane for solo mining. At least 22 confirmed solo blocks were found by individual miners (not pools).
Some highlights from my tracking:
- Block 875,432 — Found by 8 TH/s miner in April 2026
- Block 881,209 — 2 TH/s miner (!) in June 2026
- Block 889,764 — 50 TH/s miner in September 2026
- Block 895,101 — 15 TH/s miner in November 2026
What’s crazy: half of these miners had under 10 TH/s. That’s less hashpower than a single Antminer S19.
I tracked all 22 stories: 22 Solo Miners Found Bitcoin Blocks in 2026: Real Stories
Step 3: Notable Altcoin Solo Block Tracker Highlights
Bitcoin gets all the hype, but some of the most interesting solo mining happens on smaller coins. The odds are better, the stories are wilder, and honestly? The math makes way more sense.
Litecoin Merged Mining Jackpots
Merged mining is basically getting free lottery tickets. When you mine Litecoin, you can simultaneously mine Dogecoin and other coins that share the same algorithm (Scrypt).
One miner I tracked found 3 Litecoin solo blocks in 2026 using just 2 Antminer L7 units (18 GH/s total Scrypt hashrate). Each block paid:
- 12.5 LTC (main reward)
- Plus bonus Dogecoin blocks
- Total value per find: $800-1,200 depending on timing
Sure, that’s not Bitcoin money. But the odds are actually reasonable with a couple of ASICs. Full breakdown: Merged Mining Economics: Solo Mining Litecoin Earns 10+ Coins
Ergo Solo Blocks (GPU Mining)
Before Ethereum went proof-of-stake, GPU miners needed somewhere to go. Ergo became popular, and several miners hit solo blocks with small rigs.
Notable find from my tracker: 6x RTX 3070 rig (360 MH/s) found block 823,445 in February 2026. Payout: 67 ERG (around $200 at the time).
The odds with 360 MH/s at that difficulty? Roughly 1 block every 45 days statistically. Actually finding one in week 3 of mining was solid luck but not miraculous.
Ravencoin GPU Wins
Ravencoin has a lower network hashrate, making solo mining way more viable for home miners. I’ve tracked at least 15 confirmed solo blocks found by miners with under 1 GH/s.
Best story: A miner with 8x RX 6600 XT cards (240 MH/s total) found 2 blocks in 3 months during late 2026. Each block paid 5,000 RVN.
Trust me on this: Ravencoin is underrated for solo mining if you’re running GPUs anyway.
Step 4: How to Track New Solo Block Finds Yourself
Okay, so you want to be like me and obsessively track every solo mining win? Here’s how I do it.
Monitor r/BitcoinMining and r/gpumining
Reddit is where miners brag. Every time someone hits a solo block, they post screenshots. I check these subreddits daily:
- r/BitcoinMining — For BTC solo finds
- r/gpumining — For altcoin solo blocks
- r/EtcMining, r/Ravencoin, etc. — Coin-specific communities
Set up alerts for keywords like “solo block”, “found block”, “solo mining win”.
Follow Solo Pool Operators on Twitter
Solo mining pools like solo.ckpool.org announce every block found through them. Follow these accounts:
- @ckpool_dev — CKPool solo finds
- @btc_solo — Another major solo pool
- @2Miners — They run solo pools for multiple coins
These accounts basically do the tracking work for you. Every announcement includes block height, hashrate of the finder, and sometimes miner comments.
Use Block Explorers for Manual Verification
When someone claims a solo block, verify it yourself. Block explorers show who mined each block.
For Bitcoin: blockchain.com or mempool.space — Search the block number and check if it was mined by an unknown address (solo) or a known pool.
For altcoins: Each coin has its own explorer (ravencoin.network, ergo.watch, etc.)
This is how I caught a few fake claims. Some people lie for clout, but the blockchain doesn’t.
Join Discord Communities
Mining Discord servers are where the real conversations happen. Miners share setups, discuss finds, and sometimes post screenshots of blocks minutes after finding them.
Servers I’m in:
- Bitaxe Community — For Bitcoin USB stick miners
- GPU Mining Community — General GPU mining discussions
- Various coin-specific servers
Look, I spend probably too much time in these servers. But that’s how I caught the Bitaxe block story the day it happened.
Step 5: What These Historical Blocks Teach Us
Tracking all these solo block history finds isn’t just for fun. There are actual patterns and lessons that make you a smarter solo miner.
Low Hashrate Can Win (But Luck Matters More)
The Bitaxe win proves you don’t need industrial hardware. But here’s the honest math:
With 500 GH/s on Bitcoin right now, your expected time to find a block is roughly 2,700 years. That miner got insanely lucky.
Does that mean you shouldn’t try? No. But understand you’re playing the lottery. I explain the variance math here: Solo Mining Variance: Why Luck Beats Hashrate (The Math)
Timing Your Hardware Purchase Matters
Several of the 2026 solo block winners mentioned they bought used ASICs during the 2026 bear market when prices crashed.
Buying mining gear when prices are low means:
- Lower initial investment to break even
- More coins mined during the bear market
- Potential block finds during the recovery
I wrote about this strategy: Solo Mining Bear Market Strategy: Should You Keep Mining?
Rented Hashpower Is a Valid Strategy
That $330K NiceHash win wasn’t just luck. It was calculated risk.
Renting hashpower lets you:
- Skip hardware investment and electricity costs
- Try solo mining without long-term commitment
- Adjust your “bet size” based on difficulty and coin price
It’s basically gambling, but with better odds than actual casinos. Just be ready to lose your rental costs if you don’t hit a block.
Some Coins Actually Make Solo Mining Viable
Bitcoin solo mining with tiny hashrate is a pipe dream. But Ravencoin? Ergo? Even Litecoin with merged mining?
The odds improve dramatically on smaller networks. My personal calculation: if you can achieve a “time to find block” under 6 months with your hashrate, solo mining actually makes sense as a long-term strategy.
Use this to calculate your odds: Solo Mining Profitability Calculator: Calculate Block Odds
Step 6: Setting Up Your Own Solo Mining Tracker System
If you’re as obsessed as me, you’ll want your own tracking system. Here’s how I built mine.
Create a Spreadsheet Database
I use Google Sheets to track every notable find. My columns:
- Date found
- Coin / Network
- Block height
- Miner hashrate
- Network hashrate at time
- Block reward amount
- USD value at time
- Source (Reddit link, Twitter screenshot, etc.)
- Special notes (hardware used, miner comments, etc.)
This lets me sort by different criteria. Lowest hashrate wins? Most valuable payouts? Longest mining duration before finding block?
Having it all organized makes you spot patterns. Like how most Bitcoin solo wins happen with hashrates between 1-20 TH/s. Not 500 GH/s (too small), not 500 TH/s (they join pools).
Set Up Automatic Alerts
I use IFTTT and Google Alerts to notify me when certain keywords appear:
- “solo block found”
- “solo mining win”
- “found block solo”
For Reddit, I use Reddit Enhancement Suite to highlight these terms. For Twitter, TweetDeck with custom search columns.
Sure, I get false positives. But I also catch stories within hours instead of weeks.
Monitor Your Own Solo Mining Stats
If you’re solo mining yourself, track your own attempts properly. Not just “am I mining”, but actual performance metrics.
I wrote a full guide on building a dashboard: Solo Mining Monitoring Dashboard: Stats, Alerts & Setup
Key stats to track:
- Total hashes submitted
- Best share difficulty found (how close you got to a block)
- Uptime percentage
- Estimated time to block at current hashrate
This way, if you ever DO find a block, you have all the data to share your story properly.
Document Everything
When I see a notable solo block claim, I screenshot everything. The Reddit post, the blockchain confirmation, any follow-up comments.
Why? Because people delete posts. Accounts get banned. Servers go offline.
Having your own archive means you can reference these stories forever. Plus, if you’re trying to prove solo mining works to skeptical friends, having documented evidence helps.
Real Warnings About Solo Mining from Historical Data
Okay, I love solo mining. But tracking hundreds of attempts and wins taught me some hard truths.
Most Miners Never Find a Block
For every success story I track, there are thousands of miners who ran hardware for months or years and found nothing.
The Bitaxe community has over 3,000 active miners. Only ONE found a block. That’s a 0.03% success rate.
The math doesn’t lie. With small hashrates on Bitcoin, your realistic odds are essentially zero over normal time periods. Understanding variance helps: Solo Mining Variance: Why Luck Beats Hashrate (The Math)
Electricity Costs Can Destroy Your ROI
Even if you find a block, electricity costs matter. I tracked one miner who found a Bitcoin block after 8 months with 5 TH/s.
Block reward: ~$200,000 (BTC price at the time)
Electricity cost during those 8 months: ~$8,000
Hardware cost: $2,000 (used S9)
Net profit: Still amazing. But imagine if he hadn’t found the block. That’s $8,000 down the drain.
Some miners avoid this by using solar power: Solar Powered Solo Mining: Zero Electricity Cost at Home
Tax Implications Are Complex
When you find a solo block, congratulations! You now have a massive tax event.
The IRS treats mined crypto as income at fair market value on the day you received it. That Bitaxe miner who won $258K? That’s potentially $258K of taxable income.
Then when you sell, capital gains taxes kick in too.
I’m not a tax expert (I’m 13), but I researched this topic here: Solo Mining Tax Implications: How to Report Block Rewards
Real talk: Set aside money for taxes if you hit a block. Don’t spend it all and get wrecked by the IRS later.
Hardware Obsolescence Happens Fast
Many historical solo blocks were found with hardware that’s now obsolete. Those S9 miners? Barely profitable now even with free electricity.
If you’re buying hardware for solo mining, understand it might become e-waste before finding a block. That risk is part of the equation.
ROI analysis matters: Solo Mining ROI Analysis: When Will Your Hardware Pay for Itself?
Should You Try to Make Solo Mining Block History Yourself?
After tracking hundreds of solo blocks, here’s my honest take on whether you should try:
If you have under 10 TH/s on Bitcoin: You’re basically playing the lottery. Understand the odds. Mine for fun and learning, not profit expectation.
If you have 10-100 TH/s on Bitcoin: Still unlikely, but I’d call it a “reasonable lottery ticket”. Multiple miners in this range found blocks in 2026. Consider it a hedge against buying Bitcoin directly: Solo Mining Hedge Strategy: Lottery Mining as Insurance Policy
If you’re mining altcoins with decent hashrate: Actually smart in some cases. Coins like Ravencoin, Ergo, or Litecoin (with merged mining) have solo block times measured in weeks or months, not centuries.
For GPU miners: Pick your coin carefully. Ergo, Ravencoin, and similar chains offer decent solo mining odds if you have 5+ GPUs. Bitcoin GPU mining is dead.
For people considering renting hashpower: This is the “high risk, high reward” approach. If you’re okay potentially losing a few thousand dollars for a shot at six figures, the math can work. Just treat it as gambling money.
My personal approach: I run a small Bitcoin solo mining setup (about 6 TH/s) knowing I’ll probably never find a block. But I also solo mine Ravencoin with GPUs where my odds are reasonable. Diversify your solo mining efforts.
Compare to just buying coins: Solo Mining vs Buying Bitcoin: Which Investment Makes Sense?
Frequently Asked Questions
How many solo blocks are found on Bitcoin each year?
Based on blockchain analysis and community reports, approximately 20-30 confirmed solo blocks are found by individual miners each year on Bitcoin. This doesn’t include blocks found by unknown large miners who might technically be “solo” but are really small farms. The actual number of sub-20 TH/s miners finding blocks is probably 15-25 annually.
What’s the smallest hashrate that ever found a Bitcoin block?
The confirmed record is the Bitaxe miner with 480 GH/s finding block 826,669 in January 2026. This is roughly 0.00000008% of the network hashrate at the time. There are unconfirmed reports of even smaller finds, but without blockchain proof, I don’t count them in my tracker. Some people claim CPU mining finds from early Bitcoin years (2009-2010), but those were different conditions entirely.
Is solo mining profitable compared to pool mining?
Statistically, no. Pool mining gives you steady, predictable income. Solo mining gives you rare, huge payouts. Over infinite time with identical hashrate, the expected value is the same (minus pool fees, which are usually 1-2%). But solo mining has massive variance. You could earn nothing for years, then hit a jackpot. It’s profitable if you find a block, unprofitable if you don’t. That’s why I call it lottery mining.
Do I need to run a full node to solo mine?
For true solo mining, yes. Running your own node means you’re independently verifying transactions and building your own block templates. This is crucial for Bitcoin solo mining. Some altcoins offer “solo pools” where the pool helps coordinate but doesn’t distribute rewards to multiple miners — technically still solo, but you’re trusting the pool infrastructure. Full node setup guide: Bitcoin Core Solo Mining Configuration: Complete Setup Guide
Can you solo mine with rented hashpower profitably?
It depends on timing and luck. Renting hashpower for solo mining is like buying expensive lottery tickets. The expected value is usually negative because rental rates already factor in profitability. But if you get lucky and find a block quickly, profits can be massive. That $330K NiceHash win was profitable because the miner found a block after only $3K in rentals. Most renters lose money. It’s gambling with better odds than casinos, but still gambling.