Clear DefinitionsSolo Mining
2 min read
Pronunciation
[soh-loh mahyn-ing]
Analogy
Imagine fishing in a huge ocean. Solo mining is like fishing by yourself with your own boat and gear. If you catch a giant fish (find a block), you get to keep the whole fish (the full block reward). However, because the ocean is vast and there are many other fishers, your chances of catching a fish on any given day might be very small if your boat and gear aren't substantial. Joining a fishing fleet (a mining pool) gives you a share of every fish caught by the fleet, providing more regular but smaller catches.
Definition
The practice of mining cryptocurrencies independently, without joining a mining pool. A solo miner uses their own hardware to try and find new blocks on their own. If successful, they receive the full block reward and all transaction fees for that block, but the probability of finding a block can be very low depending on their hashrate relative to the total network hashrate.
Key Points Intro
Solo mining offers the full block reward upon success but with less frequent payouts compared to pool mining.
Key Points
Miners attempt to solve blocks independently using their own hashing power.
If a solo miner finds a block, they receive the entire block reward and transaction fees.
Payouts are infrequent and less predictable, especially for miners with low hashrate relative to the network.
Does not involve sharing rewards or paying fees to a mining pool operator.
Often requires running a full node of the blockchain.
Example
In the early days of Bitcoin, solo mining with a CPU was feasible. Today, due to the extremely high network hashrate, solo mining Bitcoin is only viable for individuals or entities with very large mining operations (massive amounts of ASICs). For smaller cryptocurrencies with lower network hashrate, solo mining might still be a practical option for some.
Technical Deep Dive
A solo miner runs a full node and their mining software connects directly to it. When their hardware finds a hash that meets the network's difficulty target, they broadcast the new block to the network. The probability of a solo miner finding a block is proportional to their share of the total network hashrate. For example, if a solo miner contributes 0.001% of the Bitcoin network hashrate, they would statistically find a block roughly once every 100,000 blocks (which could take years).
Caveat
For major PoW cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, solo mining is extremely unlikely to be profitable or provide consistent income for individuals with typical consumer-grade hardware due to the immense competition and high network difficulty. It's often described as a lottery.
Solo Mining - Related Articles
No related articles for this term.