Mining Bitcoin alone from your living room with a €100 machine, without a pool, without an intermediary, without permission. This is no longer a cypherpunk fantasy : it's a reality that has already earned individuals over $300,000 in 2025 and 2026.
But behind the spectacular titles lies a more honest question: what are we really signing up for when we talk about solo-mining?
Mining Bitcoin alone, plainly
Mining Bitcoin involves running a machine that calculates billions of hashes per second to try and solve the cryptographic puzzle of the next block. In pool mining, thousands of miners combine their computing power and share the rewards proportionally. It's regular and predictable, but every satoshi mined passes through an intermediary.
Mining Bitcoin solo is the opposite. You point your machine directly to the network, either through your own node or via a solo pool that simply relays the work without receiving the rewards. If your device finds a block, you pocket the entire reward: currently 3,125 BTC plus transaction fees, which is between $250,000 and $310,000 depending on the exchange rate.
No sharing. No commission. No third party between your equipment and the network.
That's exactly Satoshi's vision: a node, a machine, a voice.
How does it actually work?
Your miner runs continuously on the SHA-256 algorithm and submits "guesses," attempts to solve the next block. Each hash is an independent lottery: a ticket. The Bitcoin network currently exceeds 900 EH/s and the difficulty is around 138,97 trillion in April 2026.
Your chance of finding a block depends solely on the proportion of your hashrate relative to the global total. Each hash is an independent attempt, meaning past results have no effect on future chances. This is what makes solo mining a lottery. A Bitaxe Gamma 602 at 1,2 TH/sa has exactly the same probability per block, whether connected to Solo CKPool (299 blocks found) or AtlasPool (1 block found).
In practical terms: a Bitaxe that has been mining for six months without finding anything is neither "overdue" nor "late." It has exactly the same chance as a Bitaxe that logged in this morning.
Equipment available in 2026
The open-source ecosystem has exploded in recent years. Here are the machines that truly dominate home mining today.
- Bitaxe Gamma (602) — approximately 1,2 TH/s for 15 to 18 W, around €90 to €150. The absolute benchmark for beginners. Open source, silent, built around the BM1370 chip (the same as the industrial Antminer S21). This machine, in its various versions, has won the majority of documented solo blocks over the last eighteen months.
- Bitaxe Touch / Bitaxe GT — Premium versions with touchscreen or double the hashrate (2,4 TH/s). For those who want a more advanced desktop machine.
- NerdQAxe++ Rev 6 — approximately 4,8 to 6 TH/s for 35 to 100 W. Based on the BM1368 chips, the same ones used in the Antminer S21 family. The result is a surprisingly capable home miner that consumes less than 35 W for approximately 4,8 TH/s of SHA-256 hashing power. This is the best hashrate-to-noise ratio for those who want to maximize their chances without turning their living room into a data center. Mineshop
- Industrial ASICs (Antminer S21, Whatsminer M60) — 200 to 300+ TH/s. Another category: noisy, power-hungry, but with much more serious odds. Recommended only for those with a technical room and a competitive electricity rate.
The real chances of finding a block
Let's be honest about the probabilities. At 4,8 TH/s and a network hashrate of around 800 EH/s, your statistical probability of finding a block solo is about once every 9,600 years.
For a standard Bitaxe Gamma at 1,2 TH/s, we are talking about several tens of thousands of years in expectation.
And yet, these blocks fall. Regularly.
On February 10, 2024, an anonymous miner using a Bitaxe captured block 883,181, earning 3,15 BTC, or $308,000 in grants and fees. On March 10, 2025, a solo miner using a pocket-sized Bitaxe at 480 GH/s solved block 887,212, earning a total of 3,15 BTC, or approximately $258,000 at the time.
On April 9, the winner of block 944,306 was using barely 70 TH/s, the equivalent of a single Antminer S17+ from 2019.
The NerdQaxe++ hardware has found three confirmed Bitcoin blocks since September 2025, including one by a single unit.
Improbable does not mean impossible. That is the mathematical beauty of proof of work.
So, will it be profitable in 2026?
Let's be frank. If we calculate the pure mathematical expectation, mining Bitcoin alone is not profitable for an individual. A NerdQaxe++ at 4,8 TH/s yields approximately $0,15 per day in gross Bitcoin revenue before electricity costs at the current hash price. Over a year, that's less than the cost of electricity in most European countries.
But this interpretation misses the point.
A Bitaxe Gamma costs about $1 to $2 per month in electricity. If you find a block, you win over $240,000. You pay a few dollars a month for a perpetual lottery ticket with a prize exceeding a quarter of a million dollars.
That's a different equation. And it changes everything.
Compare that to the French lottery: €2,20 per ticket, a one in 19 million chance, and if you lose, your €2,20 is gone for good. With Bitaxe, you "lose" €2 in electricity per month, but you keep the machine, you strengthen the network's decentralization, you run a node, and your cumulative odds increase with each hash.
The real question, therefore, is not "is it profitable?" but "what am I really buying?"
What mining alone earns you, even without a block
Beyond the lottery, there is an immediate return on investment that no Excel calculation can capture.
- You learn Bitcoin by doing. Setting up a miner, understanding hashrate, monitoring difficulty, reading a share, decrypting a block's coinbase: you're really getting hands-on with the protocol. No online course can replace that.
- You are participating in decentralization. Every device connected on its own, every node validating its own transactions, is another grain of sand against industrial concentration. Bitcoin currently produces about 800 exahashes per second of total mining power. A single Bitaxe Supra at 500 GH/s represents about 0,0000000006% of that total. It's minuscule. But it's not zero. And multiplied by thousands of Bitcoiners, it matters.
- You heat your room (a little). 18W won't heat a house, but that's heat produced by securing the Bitcoin network rather than watching Netflix.
- You are holding a sovereign object. No subscription, no account, no KYC. A machine, your key, the network. That's rare in 2026.
Solo pool or true solo: the nuance that matters
When we talk about mining Bitcoin alone, there are actually two configurations.
True solo mining : you run your own Bitcoin Core node and your own mining software (typically ckpool in solo mode). No dependence on a third party. Maximum sovereignty, but a demanding technical setup.
Solo pooling : You use a service like Solo CKPool, Public Pool, or AtlasPool. These pools don't share rewards; they simply provide the Stratum infrastructure and the block template building. If your machine finds a block, you keep everything . This is the practical approach for 99% of home miners.
For purists, the ultimate combination exists: a self-hosted Bitcoin node (on a Start9 or Umbrel) with a Public Pool instance running locally. Zero fees, zero trust, total control.
How to get started, step by step
If you want to try it without breaking the bank:
1. Order a Bitaxe Gamma from a trusted reseller (Mineshop in Europe, Solo Satoshi in the United States, or directly through the Proto.xyz community). Expect to pay between €100 and €150 including shipping.
2. Set up your Bitcoin wallet in self-custody. This is the address that will receive the reward if you find a block. Above all, do not use an exchange address: if your Bitaxe earns $250,000 while you sleep, you want the bitcoins to arrive in your hardware wallet.
3. Plug the miner into a standard outlet, connect it to Wi-Fi via the AxeOS interface.
4. Point it to a solo pool. For Europe, CK Pool EU is a good, fee-free option. Public Pool is simpler to use. Enter your Bitcoin address as your worker name.
5. Let it run. And forget about it. Seriously. Monitoring your dashboard every day is the best way to go crazy — remember: Poisson process, the block could fall in an hour or in 50 years.
The final word
Mining Bitcoin solo in 2026 isn't a business plan. It's an act. A technical, economic, and somewhat philosophical act. You don't mine to get rich: you mine because you can, because the network allows it, and because each hash is a quiet affirmation that Bitcoin remains an open system where anyone can participate from their living room.
If a block falls, it's a life-changing event. If it doesn't, you'll still have learned more about Bitcoin in six months of Bitaxe than in six months of articles.
This is, perhaps, the only lottery ticket that never truly loses.
FAQ — Mining Bitcoin on your own in 2026
What is the actual probability of finding a block with a Bitaxe Gamma? A Bitaxe Gamma 601 at 1,2 TH/s is approximately 1 in 1,6 million per day. A Bitaxe Gamma Turbo at 2,5 TH/s is approximately 1 in 778,000. A Bitaxe Supra Hex 701 at 4,2 TH/s is approximately 1 in 463,000. Cumulatively over several years, it remains improbable but quite real. Captainmining
How much does it really cost to run a Bitaxe? For a standard 15-18W model, expect to pay around €3 to €4 per month in France (at the regulated rate), and $1 to $2 in the United States. Over a year, that's less than a Netflix subscription.
Do you need to run your own Bitcoin node to mine on your own? No, it's not mandatory. A solo pool like Public Pool or Solo CKPool manages the node part for you. But running your own node (on a Start9, an Umbrel, or even a simple Raspberry Pi) maximizes sovereignty and eliminates any intermediaries. It's the logical next step for Bitcoiners who take decentralization seriously.
What happens if I find a block? Your solo pool relays the block to the network, your Bitcoin address is recorded in the Coinbase transaction, and the 3,125 BTC (plus fees) arrive in your wallet after 100 confirmations (approximately 16 hours). This is public, verifiable on mempool.space, and completely irreversible.
Which solo pool should you choose for solo mining? For Europe, CK Pool EU is the benchmark (zero fees). Public Pool is more technically accessible and offers a self-hosted option. Solo CKPool is the oldest and has relayed over 299 solo blocks to date. The choice doesn't affect your probabilities, only the ease of use and alignment with your sovereignty values.
Do you have to declare mined bitcoins to the tax authorities in France? Yes. Mining Bitcoin on your own is considered a non-commercial activity (BNC) if you do it occasionally. Beyond a certain threshold, it becomes a professional activity. The value of the bitcoins received is taxable at the time they are mined, and a block found must be declared using form 2086. Consult a tax advisor if you receive a block—it's a major tax event.
Will solo Bitcoin mining be killed by large industrial farms? No, and that's precisely Bitcoin's genius. Large farms increase the overall difficulty, but they don't change the probabilistic nature of the proof-of-work. Every hash has the same chance, whether it comes from a Bitaxe or an industrial Antminer S21. The larger the network grows, the rarer solo blocks become—but they will continue to exist as long as the law of large numbers holds true.
- What are Stratum V2 and DATUM? These are newer protocols that allow miners (including pooled miners) to build their own block templates, instead of letting the pool decide. This is a major step forward for decentralization, because it gives miners back control over the transactions included in the blocks they produce. Something to watch closely in 2026.
- Can I mine Bitcoin alone with multiple Bitaxes running in parallel? Yes, and that's what many serious miners do. Multiple units connected to the same network increase your cumulative hashrate and therefore your chances. The AxeOS Swarm interface allows you to monitor an entire cluster from a single dashboard. Block 920,440 was actually found by a miner running six NerdQaxe++ machines for a total of approximately 130 TH/s.
- Is mining Bitcoin alone legal in France? Yes, absolutely. Bitcoin mining is legal in France, whether in a pool or solo. The only difference depending on your activity is the tax treatment. No authorization or prior declaration is required to set up a Bitcoin mining rig at home.
To learn more about Bitcoin sovereignty, check out our guides on self-custody, home nodes and Lightning payments on ZoneBitcoin.co.
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