In the bitcoin mining market dominated by large mining pools, a solo miner using a home mining machine has succeeded in creating a block and secured 3.154 BTC. The case is drawing attention because a small individual miner took the entire block reward despite competition from industrial-scale mining firms with massive computing power.

Bitcoin Magazine reported on Oct. 29 that an operator mining with a FutureBit Apollo Solo discovered bitcoin block 973262 early this week. The miner secured the 3.154 BTC block reward and also obtained transaction fees from 2,477 transactions included in the block.

Several block explorers showed the finder of the block as "FutureBit Apollo Solo". Coinbase transaction records also included wording pointing to FutureBit and Apollo, supporting the mining success.

The result is notable because it came as large commercial mining pools lead block production on the bitcoin network. FutureBit said on X, formerly Twitter, "Gradually, then suddenly. Today, we, the people found a bitcoin block," adding, "Bitcoin should be in the hands of sovereign individuals. We are building equipment to protect that."

The specific device and hashrate that generated the winning hash could not be confirmed from public records alone. FutureBit said the Apollo device or a solo node running an embedded solo pool handled block template construction, work distribution and submission of the completed block. It said compatible equipment connected to an Apollo BTC, Apollo II, Apollo III or a solo node may have been used.

This success is at least the fourth confirmed block discovery for the FutureBit Apollo Solo line. Blocks 867760, 881423 and 888737 were also recorded as having been found by the same line of equipment.

FutureBit is developing hardware for users who want to run a bitcoin full node at home and mine independently without relying on large mining pools. Its latest model, Apollo III, provides up to 18 TH/s in turbo mode and also includes an integrated full-node function.

It is statistically very rare for an individual miner to find a block. Unlike mining pools where multiple participants share rewards, solo mining gives the miner all rewards and transaction fees if a block is found. Because the chance of success is low, it is often called "lottery-style mining."

Bitcoin network hashrate recently stands at about 1,070 to 1,087 EH/s. Compared with that, the chance of home equipment at around 10 to 18 TH/s finding a block is extremely low. Based on current difficulty, the expected waiting time is on the order of hundreds of years. This is an average estimate based on probability, and the actual time of discovery can vary widely.

This is not the first case showing the possibility of solo mining. The day after this case, a separate block discovery using CKPool Solo was confirmed. It shows that even if industrial mining firms lead the market, an individual operator can independently find a block and secure the full reward.

Solo mining also matters in terms of operating sovereignty, not just economic reward. Users can directly control their own node and mining path, securing privacy and network independence. Besides FutureBit, companies such as Bitaxe and Heatbit are also targeting the individual mining market by introducing home mining machines and products combining miners with heating devices.

This block was generated on Oct. 26. Bitcoin's early design aimed for individuals to run full nodes and directly take part in block verification and mining, but later evolved into an industry centered on large mining pools as professional mining equipment advanced and mining was optimized.

This case shows there remains a possibility for individuals to participate directly in the bitcoin network even after the mining market became industrialized. But whether home solo mining can become a common means of earning profits is a separate issue, given the very low chance of finding a block and the burden of equipment prices and electricity bills.