What just happened? A solo Bitcoin mining enthusiast running a small-scale operation has hit the jackpot. On Friday, the machine – believed to be an older generation ASIC device capable of around six terahashes per second of performance – defied the odds and solved a Bitcoin block, taking home a small fortune in the process.

According to CoinDesk, the lowly miner had a one in 180 million chance of solving a Bitcoin block on any given day. At roughly 6 TH/s, the miner accounts for just 0.0000007 percent of the Bitcoin network's total hash power.

A single Bitcoin is trading for around $86,270 as of this writing. Given the reward of roughly 3.146 BTC and associated fees for mining a block, the haul is worth around $270,000 currently.

Bitcoin is a roller coaster of peaks and valleys, and is in a down spot right now. Less than a month ago, the volatile cryptocurrency was valued closer to $115,000, which would have put the total reward closer to $360,000.

The miner that found the lucky block operates as part of a solo pool created by Con Kolivas. It is only the 308th block ever mined by the pool, which allows solo miners to keep their full reward minus a two percent fee.

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As CoinDesk highlights, it is one of the "luckiest" solo mines in recent history. Back in 2022, a solo miner running a setup with 126 TH/s of power defied odds of one in 1.3 million to capture a block, but that is a drop in the bucket compared to the latest happening.

In essence, mining for Bitcoin is a lot like playing the lottery, and serious miners employ a lot of the same tactics. Rather than go at it solo, miners often join pools to group their resources together for a better shot of solving a block. If a pool is successful, they will split the winnings equally across members – ensuring that everyone gets a piece of the pie.

Image credit: Erling Loken Andersen